


Call One Wolf, Invite the Pack

by doitsushine92



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alpha/Beta, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Angst, Beta/Omega, M/M, Mating, Mating Bites, Mating Bond, Pack Dynamics, Pack Feels, Wolf Pack, claiming bite, pack bond
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-11
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2018-09-23 13:53:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 17
Words: 41,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9660164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doitsushine92/pseuds/doitsushine92
Summary: Be strong enough to stand alone, be yourself enough to stand apart, but be wise enough to stand together when the time comes.





	1. Chapter 1

Junmyeon’s territory was made up by the districts south of the Han River. Yifan’s territory was on the north, and there was a very clear line separating them; an entire river, as a matter of fact. Which begs the questions: why can Junmyeon sense Yifan by the border? He was not quite grazing his district but he certainly was close enough for Junmyeon to feel uncomfortable, threatened even. 

The last time Junmyeon had been in Yifan’s territory was during a school trip in the seventh grade to Dongdaemun, and his pack had spent the entire time huddled together, Yifan’s boys with their eyes on them like hawks.

Junmyeon ran faster through the woods until he skidded to a halt at the tree line. Yifan was standing there in his human form, hands shoved in his jean pockets. Junmyeon knew Yifan since they were kids, because when there is more than one pack in the same city, it is better to have a somewhat friendly relationship.

“Relax,” Yifan said, “I’m here in peace, so you can stop growling at me.”

Junmyeon shifted around, branches crushing under his paws. He stared at Yifan with no intention to shift back.

Yifan sighed, “Fine. I am here because Lu Han, my beta, spotted some hunters during his patrol last night. They didn’t see him, but we are sure they are onto us. We are the only packs in the city, so I figured I’d let you know. I’m sure you’d do the same for us.”

There was sarcasm in his voice, as if he didn’t think Junmyeon would have warned him. There was some truth to it; but to be honest, Junmyeon was surprised Yifan was there, telling him about the threat. He felt sort of bad, but quickly pushed it down. 

“Anyway, I’m leaving now.” And with that, Yifan turned around and walked away.

-

All of his pack members hated patrol duty. It was tiring, it was boring, and it took time away from doing things all teenagers had to do: eat, do their homework, sleep, and repeat. But they had a responsibility, so that night Junmyeon set out with Baekhyun in wolf form into the city, sticking to the shadows. It was only once a week, anyway.

The omega was quiet most of the time, trudging behind Junmyeon with careful steps so they weren’t seen or heard by anyone. Junmyeon was debating with himself whether to tell his pack about the hunters or not; he didn’t want to scare them, but he also wanted them to be careful. 

Baekhyun picked up on his mood pretty easily, especially after Junmyeon snarled at him for tripping over a dumpster as they moved from one alley to the other. Baekhyun curled in on himself after that, tail between his legs and ears dropped to his head. Junmyeon tried really hard to ignore him, but when he heard the whimpering he felt a tug at his heart and shifted back to his human form. 

They were on their way back to the pack house, hidden by the trees. Baekhyun shifted, too, and Junmyeon wasted no time enveloping him in a hug. Despite being practically the same height, Junmyeon was awarded with the built that came with being an alpha, and Baekhyun’s tiny omega body fit perfectly in his arms. 

“I’m sorry,” Junmyeon apologized into Baekhyun’s hair, “I shouldn’t have snapped at you, I’m just worried about something.” Baekhyun had his face buried in the crook of his neck, but managed to say, “Its ok. I’m just really sensitive because of the full moon.”

Junmyeon had completely forgotten about the full moon; it was scheduled for next week. He patted Baekhyun in the bum affectionately and slung an arm around his neck, guiding them back to the house. 

Their clothes were right where they had left them, sitting on a boulder by the edge of the forest. The pack house was located right at the entrance, a big old country house with two floors and a kitchen with enough room to store all the food they consumed. 

Even before they stepped through the threshold, Junmyeon could hear them talking and laughing in the kitchen, the smell of Kyungsoo’s breakfast wafting through the air and into their nostrils. Baekhyun slumped against him on their way in, his stomach grumbled loudly and he whined, “Why does it have to be Friday? I wanna sleep all day.”

Junmyeon heard Chanyeol before he saw him, the lanky boy sliding into view, saying, “I can take notes for the both of us, if you want,” as he took his best friend away. Junmyeon dragged his feet towards the kitchen and sat down next to Minseok with a sigh. 

His beta slid a plate his way; bacon, eggs, toast, pancakes, everything a growing wolf needs to be strong and healthy. Junmyeon didn’t have time to say anything, shoving food down his throat, and swallowed the last bite before saying, “Thanks, hyung.”

Minseok smiled at him, adorable gums in display as he said, “Chanyeol is right; you two should stay home today, we’ll lend you our notes.”

Kyungsoo was already in his school uniform, blazer in disarray as he struggled with Jongdae to let go of his tie. The two were always roughhousing around, the tiny omega manhandling the mouthy beta into a headlock and successfully snatching his tie back.

Chanyeol, the only other alpha in their pack of six, had one hand on Baekhyun’s hip and another on his backpack, sweet talking the older boy into staying home that day; insisting he and Jongdae could just pay extra attention in class and then report back to him. Junmyeon knew Minseok would write down everything said in class and would let him know if anything exciting happened that day, so he didn’t worry.

“Baek, maybe they’re right,” Junmyeon said, “We were on patrol all night, we could use the sleep.”

Baekhyun sighed but nodded, not being the biggest fan of skipping school. Chanyeol cheered and threw the boy on the couch, covering him up with a thin blanket as he said, “Goodnight, Baekkie!”

Baekhyun grumbled something about not being a baby but snuggled into the blanket and started snoring almost immediately. Kyungsoo waved goodbye at Junmyeon as he left through the door, Jongdae and Chanyeol in tow. 

“Well, I hope you actually sleep,” Minseok said, “Instead of baby Baekhyun all day and exhaust yourself to death.”

Baekhyun made a sound of protest but didn’t open his eyes. Junmyeon scowled at his best friend and pushed him away with a hand on his face. Minseok laughed merrily as he skipped away, messenger bag slung over his shoulder. After that, it was silent in the house, interrupted only by Baekhyun’s soft snoring and yelps. Junmyeon thought he was adorable.

Junmyeon went upstairs to his room, took off his clothes and was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

-

It was a little past noon when Junmyeon heard Baekhyun calling for him downstairs. Junmyeon leaped out of bed when he sensed the distress in his pack member’s voice and was in the living room in a flash, still in his underwear as he looked around to find the omega standing alone by the kitchen window, the one that faced their driveway.

“Hyung, look,” Baekhyun said, pointing outside. Junmyeon moved to stand next to him and watched; Yifan was parking his car by the fence, but this time he was accompanied by one of his betas, Jongin. 

“Wait here,” Junmyeon grumbled and was about to walk out when Baekhyun stopped him with a pointed look at his body. “Ok, you go, I’ll be right outside.” Junmyeon raced upstairs, threw on the first clothes he could find and was out the door in a flash. 

“Whatever it is you have to say, you can say it to me,” Baekhyun was saying stubbornly, arms crossed across his chest. Yifan looked past him to Junmyeon with a scowl and said, “Well, it’s about time. Your little omega here wouldn’t let us in.”

Baekhyun growled at the ‘little omega’ but Junmyeon stood in front of him and said, “What is it, Yifan?”

“One of my boys was attacked this morning, Sehun,” Yifan said, and Junmyeon noticed how Jongin stiffened, “He was on his way to school when two hunters jumped him; they left him for dead. He practically is, anyway.”

A look of worry clouded Yifan’s features. Junmyeon felt bad for him. Sehun was his sole omega, and the youngest in his pack.

“Wait, hunters?” Baekhyun asked. Damn, Junmyeon had forgotten he was there. “There are hunters in town?”

Yifan looked at Junmyeon incredulously, “You didn’t tell them?”

“I was going to do it tonight, with all of us in the house,” Junmyeon grumbled, feeling guilty. It could have easily been one of his boys.

“Since when have you known?” there was an accusatory tone in Baekhyun’s voice, one Junmyeon didn’t like in the slightest. 

“Yesterday, Baekhyun, right before our patrol,” Junmyeon snapped.

“Look, now isn’t the time for pack fights,” Jongin spoke up, exasperated, “Right now, we need to focus on these damn hunters. They seem to be moving towards your territory.”

“What?” Junmyeon asked.

“I had my best tracker, Yixing; follow their scent after we got Sehun to a hospital. He trailed them all the way to the edge of your territory. He would have continued, but he figured it was better not to anger you.”

Baekhyun looked like he’d been slapped across the face, pale as a sheet, and Junmyeon could feel his motherly side rise to the surface. Baekhyun’s old pack had been slaughtered by hunters when he was little, only nine years old; he barely managed to make it across the border, stumbling into Junmyeon’s backyard bleeding and limping. Even at the age of ten, Junmyeon had been elected by the elders to lead the next pack, and Junmyeon had made the executive decision right then that this tiny being in his porch would be a part of it.

“Junmyeon, may I speak with you in private?” Yifan asked with a pointed look towards the house. Junmyeon sighed, but nodded anyway.

Yifan looked around wearily, as if expecting Chanyeol or someone else to show up out of nowhere and jump him. Junmyeon almost snorted at the thought; Yifan was huge, and probably hard to beat. Maybe Chanyeol could win him over in a fight, but that was all the threat Yifan might find in the house; except maybe Kyungsoo or Baekhyun when angry.

“So,” Junmyeon clapped, “What did you want to talk about?”

Yifan startled, but quickly regained his composure and said, “I have a proposition for you,” there was wariness in his voice, “One of my boys was already attacked, and there is no doubt they’ll go after yours next.”

It was true, but it still didn’t settle well with Junmyeon; just the thought of one of his pack members getting hurt…

“I’d like to propose a truce,” Yifan said, “I know we already have some sort of agreement not to snap at each other, but I think…” he stopped, took a deep breath like it hurt to say it, “I think it’s best if we form some sort of alliance?”

Junmyeon raised an eyebrow, “Are you saying you need our help?”

“I’m offering,” Yifan stressed, “To help you guys, if you help us.”

Junmyeon thought about it, then said, “Let me talk to the guys, see what they have to say, and I’ll let you know.”

Yifan didn’t look the last bit surprised at Junmyeon’s reluctance to make any decision without his pack. Yifan was the same.

“Alright,” he said, “We’ll be leaving now.”

After they were gone, Jongin waving shyly as they drove away, Baekhyun immediately jumped on him.

“Hyung, why didn’t you tell me?” Baekhyun was livid, but the hurt in his voice was so evident Junmyeon felt ten times more terrible than he would have if Baekhyun had just been angry.

“I didn’t mean to keep it secret,” Junmyeon sighed, “I just didn’t know how to say it. I didn’t want to freak you out.”

Junmyeon knew it was a terrible excuse, and Baekhyun seemed to think so too, because he scoffed and walked away. There was a door slamming shut upstairs and Junmyeon was left alone with his thoughts.

-

Junmyeon knew that as soon as the others got home, they would be bombarding him with questions about Sehun and the hunters. Gossip spread like wildfire in their school and news would most likely reach their ears.

He was right.

“Hyung!” the front door slammed open and Chanyeol’s deep voice boomed around the house. 

“I’m in the kitchen,” Junmyeon called. In a flash, there were four boys surrounding him; Baekhyun still hadn’t left his room.

“Hyung, what’s going on?” Jongdae asked worriedly.

“We heard Oh Sehun was in the hospital,” Kyungsoo said. 

“Where’s Baekhyun?” Expectedly, Chanyeol was more worried about the mental state of his best friend than about anything else. 

“He’s in his room, you might wanna check up on him,” Chanyeol was gone before Junmyeon finished talking.

“Jun,” Minseok said softly, always the voice of reason in Junmyeon’s life,   
“Why don’t you tell us what’s going on? Calmly, ok?”

Junmyeon sighed, “Yesterday, Yifan told me Lu Han saw a group of hunters in their territory. He warned me about them, and the only reason I didn’t tell you about it is because I didn’t know how.”

Jongdae looked like he wanted to say something at that but kept his mouth shut, which was a first for him.

“And then this morning, Yifan came by to tell us about Sehun, how Yixing followed their trail all the way to our territory,” the silence in the room was enough to suffocate him, but he pushed on, “He also wanted to offer a truce, a sort of alliance until we got rid of the hunters.”

“What did you say?” Kyungsoo asked in a small voice.

“I told him I would ask you guys,” Junmyeon said, “I’m not going to do anything you guys don’t want.”

Minseok sighed, “I think it’s a good idea; both packs are small, but we can help each other out.”

The other two nodded their agreement, Jongdae not so enthusiastically. 

“You should ask Chanyeol and Baekhyun too,” Kyungsoo suggested. Junmyeon knew he was right, even if he didn’t want to face the omega at the moment. 

The first thing he noticed when he opened the door to Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s room was that the curtains were shut and all the lights in the room were off, making it difficult for him to see. When his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he noted there was a lump underneath the blankets in Baekhyun’s bed and Chanyeol was sitting next to it, one hand rubbing up and down what Junmyeon guessed was Baekhyun’s back.

“Hey,” he said softly. Chanyeol looked at him with something akin to guilt, but Baekhyun didn’t move.

“Guys, I need to tell you something.”

Baekhyun still didn’t move, but Junmyeon knew he was listening. “Yifan offered to help us with the hunters, if we help them too. The other boys agree, but I have to know what you think.”

Chanyeol nodded, not taking his hand off Baekhyun. Then the lump said, “Whatever,” and Junmyeon’s heart broke into a thousand pieces because his voice sounded wrecked, like he’d been crying. He’d probably been crying since he locked himself in his room earlier in the day.

Junmyeon watched Baekhyun snuggle closer to Chanyeol and took that as his cue to leave. 

-

It’s not like Junmyeon hadn’t noticed it before; living with five other boys under the same roof, it wasn’t hard to find out everything they did at any hour of the day. He knew everything, from Minseok and Kyungsoo’s awkward crushes on each other, to Jongdae having a thing for annoying Kyungsoo in the dead of night only to be hit by his roommate after ten minutes of incessant “Hey Soo, Soo, hey. Hey Soo, Soo, hey.” 

He also knew – they all did, really – that something was going on between Baekhyun and Chanyeol. It was obvious in the way Chanyeol was always touching the omega, one way or another; an arm around his waist, a hand on his thigh whenever they sat down next to each other, fingers locked when they thought no one was looking.

It was obvious in the way sometimes Junmyeon would go into their room to look for dirty laundry and find one bed messy and the other perfectly made, even when it was still the crack of dawn and no one in their right mind would have made their bed so early.

It was even more obvious in the way they would disappear together during full moons after the hunt, and Baekhyun would walk with a suspicious limp for a few days after that.

Jongdae liked to tease them about it, in his not-so-subtle way. Minseok sometimes gave those knowing looks of his that they hated and even Kyungsoo would stare pointedly until they got the hint.

But it was one thing to know about it, and a whole different thing to see it.

Junmyeon hadn’t meant to walk in on them. It was Monday morning, way too early for his mind to function properly, and Junmyeon had only been on his way to the kitchen while daydreaming about coffee. He’d heard a thud coming from the bathroom and, being the oh-so-nice alpha he was, he’d decided to check it out; perhaps someone was hurt! Maybe they slipped in the shower or something.

Of course, that wasn’t the case, and Junmyeon opened the door only to be met with Chanyeol jerking off a very naked Baekhyun by the sink. For a horrifying second, Junmyeon couldn’t take his eyes off the omega, pretty lips parted and brow furrowed as he whimpered, a flush that started from his cheeks and ran down all the way to his-

But then Chanyeol turned to look at him with terrified eyes and Junmyeon shrieked in a very manly way, shouted an apology and slammed the door, not even bothering to check if it was closed before darting downstairs and into Minseok’s arms, his hyung stumbling at the added weight.

“Um, Jun?” Minseok asked slowly, “Are you ok?”

“I saw something horrible,” Junmyeon whispered. He could feel Minseok laughing. “What’s so funny?”

“Joon, we’ve all ran into them at one point or another,” Junmyeon froze, “I once saw Baekhyun going down on Chanyeol in the bathroom at school. Jongdae has seen them go all the way on the couch. I threw those cushions out, if it makes you feel any better.” It didn’t. 

An awful thought struck Junmyeon. “Kyungsoo?”

“Just making out, nothing too gross.”

Junmyeon wanted to argue, say that making out was gross, but at least his sweet omega hadn’t seen anything too bad. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo were practically his babies, and he saw it as his duty to maintain their innocence. It didn’t settle well with him, knowing one had seen the other kissing. It didn’t settle well with him to know one of them was getting fucked on the regular by an alpha, either. 

They heard Jongdae laughing upstairs and a door being shut closed, followed by even more laughter as the beta walked downstairs.

“I wouldn’t go into the bathroom if I were you,” Jongdae chuckled. Junmyeon shivered while Minseok said, “You’re a little late, but thanks.”

Jongdae made a choking sound as he tried to swallow his toast through his laughter. Junmyeon moved away from Minseok’s arms and sat down at the table, feeling like he’d aged twenty years in only five minutes. Kyungsoo looked at him funny when he walked in, but thankfully didn’t say anything as he grabbed his own breakfast and sat down. 

-

Junmyeon walked into his first period class as slowly as he could, if only to annoy Minseok a little. The beta growled as he pushed past him, making Junmyeon smile. Monday morning they had trigonometry first thing, and Junmyeon decided to catch up on some much needed sleep; he knew their teacher would arrive late, hand out three worksheets that no one would finish on time and let them turn their work in some other day, probably Wednesday. 

Junmyeon settled on his seat, backpack at his feet. Bae Joohae, the girl who sat in front of him, gave him a smile as she arranged her things. Junmyeon smiled back, but that was as far as their interactions usually got. A shame, really; she was undoubtedly pretty.

As he predicted, their prof walked in at fifteen past eight, when their class was supposed to start at seven thirty and end at nine am. Junmyeon took the four worksheets without complaints, raised an eyebrow at the extra effort he’d have to do, and stared at the instructions even as some of his classmates grumbled. One in particular, Kim Sohyun, stood up to protest in that annoying way of hers where no one was sure what she was saying; it was like she couldn’t string a sentence together without sputtering nonsense.

Junmyeon and Minseok shared a long-suffering glance before promptly falling asleep on their desks.

At nine, their World History prof walked in with their tests in hand but refused to tell them their scores until the end of the class, which was unfair. Junmyeon was forced to deal with the suspense, only to relax when their prod told him he got perfect marks and to stop looking so constipated. 

Afterwards, during Chemistry, Minseok moved to sit next to him so they could work on their textbook problems together. And then finally, finally, it was lunchtime and Junmyeon nearly tripped over himself in his haste to get to the cafeteria, Minseok hot on his heels.

They met up with the rest of their pack at their usual table. Chanyeol was in some sort of competition with Jongdae while Baekhyun recorded them and laughed obnoxiously, Kyungsoo looking on with boredom. Junmyeon found it halfway endearing and halfway gross how happy Minseok got when he caught sight of the small omega.

Their table was always the loudest in the building, and how could it not be when they had Byun Baekhyun, Kim Jongdae and Park Chanyeol sitting there? Hell, Baekhyun was loud even when he was asleep. So Junmyeon was used to having people stare at them, which is why he looked up when he noticed everyone, was looking at the front entrance of the cafeteria.

Junmyeon turned around to see what was so interesting and gasped at the sight of Oh Sehun, beaten up but still smiling walking in, Lu Han leading him by the arm. Lu Han was a senior part of Yifan’s pack and as far as Junmyeon knew, he and Sehun had been inseparable since birth. 

“Damn,” Jongdae whispered, taking in the sight of ugly bruises in the wolf’s body.

“Baek, are you ok?” Minseok asked worriedly. Baekhyun had gone white as a sheet, and his eyes were glossed over.

“I–” he croaked out, “I gotta go, see you guys later.” With that, he was racing out of the cafeteria as fast as his legs would let him without running. Chanyeol stared at his retreating figure with worry until Kyungsoo kicked him sharply and hissed at him to go after the omega. Chanyeol nearly tripped over his own feet as he complied.

Junmyeon met eyes with Yifan across the cafeteria; the other alpha had a protective arm around Sehun, but his eyes were trained on Junmyeon’s pack. Junmyeon hated the fact that he recognized that look. 

-

That night, Junmyeon called Yifan to let him know he would be crossing over to his territory, left Minseok in charge of the pack and headed out. He took a car, because the idea of having to walk or jog that distance was dreadful. He was met with Huang Zitao right in the border; the tall boy was leaning on a motorcycle and was staring at his shoes. Junmyeon parked the car behind him and turned off the ignition before getting out.

“Hello, Zitao,” Junmyeon greeted him with a smile. He liked the kid, he was very sweet. 

“Junmyeon hyung, I was waiting for you,” he said, smiling cutely at him, “Yifan ge said you should follow me back to the house.”

“Lead the way, then.”

Zitao climbed his motorcycle and Junmyeon got back on the car, following closely. Zitao made sure to stay on sight and Junmyeon was grateful for that; he didn’t usually come to this side of the Han River and he wasn’t very familiar with the streets.

Zitao led him to a big, upscale building surrounded by more upscale buildings. They went around the side to the parking area where Zitao pressed his finger to an electronical pad and the door opened. 

They took the elevator to the penthouse where the pack lived. Junmyeon was assaulted with so many different scents he almost got lightheaded; Zitao strolled right ahead, but Junmyeon took his time wandering in, a survival instinct he would never shake off. Yifan rounded the corner, most likely smelt him, and motioned for Junmyeon to follow him.

They walked into an office, much like the one Junmyeon had back home. The humans didn’t know about them, but certain government agencies did and kept them on such tight leash, they had to justify every little thing. 

“So you’ve thought about it?” Yifan asked.

“Well, hello to you too,” Junmyeon scoffed, “Yes, I have. I guess you’re right, we should help each other. But we should probably establish some ground rules first.”

Yifan waved a hand in the general direction of the chairs located in a corner before plopping down on one, Junmyeon following his lead. There is a fireplace on the opposite side of the room, unlit, obviously for colder times. Junmyeon thought back to the times when he was being tested as an alpha, only ten years old and released into the wilderness in the middle of winter with a handful of wolves and the task of keeping them alive for five days. Chanyeol nearly lost a finger due to the cold, but otherwise it went great.

“First of all, absolute no meddling with the other’s pack,” Junmyeon stated firmly, “That means you can’t continue giving me condescending looks or try to do my job as their alpha.”

“Fair enough,” Yifan conceded, “Anything else?”

Junmyeon pondered for a moment. “No, I think that’s it. What about you?”

“I don’t think so.”

Yifan stood up and shook hands with Junmyeon.

-

Once Junmyeon was back at the pack house, he found Jongdae loitering around the kitchen, eating ice cream straight out of the container. Junmyeon gave him a disapproving look that lasted about two seconds before he was grabbing the spoon from him and digging in.

“Look at you, alpha,” Jongdae laughed, “Breaking your own rules?”

It was true that Junmyeon had told them not to leave their saliva all over the food and drinks. But he really didn’t give a fuck at the moment. 

“It’s not like it’s the first time you and I share things, Jongdae yah,” Junmyeon said tiredly. Jongdae gave him a lewd once over that sent shivers down Junmyeon’s spine, but quickly cracked into a grin.

“You’re absolutely right, alpha,” Jongdae said, “As usual.”

The way Jongdae said ‘alpha’ had Junmyeon’s insides twisting. Like everything Jongdae said or did, it was playful on the outside, but hid an under layer of challenge. A challenge that Junmyeon had taken multiple times before.

He didn’t that night, though. Junmyeon knew what Jongdae was after, knew why the beta had stayed up so late waiting for him, but the alpha was too tired to even think about entertaining him. He did, however, let Jongdae curl into his side once in bed, and didn’t fall asleep until the younger boy was snoring softly against his neck.


	2. Two

It was customary for their pack to spend Saturday nights together; kind of like family dinners, just with more roughhousing and laughter and junk food. This time it was Kyungsoo’s turn to pick a movie so Junmyeon was already mentally prepared for all the gore and jump scares that lay ahead.   
What he wasn’t prepared for, however, was to receive a call from Lu Han. Junmyeon had just been settling into the couch, bowl of popcorn on his lap when his phone started vibrating in his back pocket. The ID read unknown caller, so Junmyeon was prepared to tell whoever it was they had the wrong number.

“Hello?”

“Junmyeon ssi?” the voice seemed familiar.

“Yeah, that’s me. Who’s this?”

“Ah! It’s Lu Han, from Yifan’s pack,” he clarified, “I’m sorry; I didn’t have your number so I stole it from Yifan.”

“That’s… alright,” Junmyeon muttered, not sure of what to say. Why would Lu Han want to talk to him?

“You’re probably wondering why I called,” Lu Han laughed, “You see, Yifan has been away for a few days now on pack business and everyone here is bored and then Sehun mentioned that you guys usually spend Friday nights together and suggested we did the same but we don’t know how to do that, so… would it be ok for us to come by for a little while?”

The first thing Junmyeon thought of was how did Sehun know about that? He didn’t even realize he had given his consent until Lu Han was shouting in glee and telling him to meet them at the border in a while.

Junmyeon hung up in confusion. 

“Hyung,” Kyungsoo called, “Are you alright?”

“I think… Yifan’s pack is coming over to watch movies with us.”

-

Thirty minutes later Junmyeon found himself waiting for Lu Han and the others by the bridge. He could smell they were close, but with the amount of people loitering around at that hour their scents got diluted; had they been pack, Junmyeon could have smelled them on the other side of the world (metaphorically, of course.)

Junmyeon sat in his car and listened to the radio until he spotted Zitao’s motorcycle and an SUV behind him. A blond head peeked out of the driver’s seat and Junmyeon saw Lu Han’s grinning face while the beta waved wildly with one arm. Junmyeon waved back, albeit not so enthusiastically and shifted gears to drive back to the house.

Yifan’s pack seemed nervous walking into Junmyeon’s pack house; all except for Lu Han. The beta walked with so much confidence, as if he owned the world or something. It was impressive, in a way. Junmyeon’s pack was waiting for them, the TV screen showing the menu section of the movie Kyungsoo had chosen. Sehun seemed skittish, holding onto Jongin’s arm tightly. Junmyeon knew omegas particularly got very nervous around other packs, and on top of that he was still recovering from a trauma. 

Yixing noticed Junmyeon staring and sidled up to him to say quietly, “We thought maybe it would be a good idea to bring him somewhere with more omegas, make him more comfortable.”

So that was the real reason why they were there. Junmyeon figured it might be good for Baekhyun, too, so he simply nodded and settled back down on his spot on the couch. Jongdae was next to him in an instant, flashing Junmyeon a smile he knew all too well; it meant trouble. 

Junmyeon worried that the presence of so many alphas would do more harm than good, but he didn’t have to because Baekhyun and Kyungsoo immediately took their seats on either side of him on the other couch, and Jongin took residence by his feet, so Sehun was surrounded by comforting scents and someone he trusted. Junmyeon hadn’t missed the looks they shared at school.

With Chanyeol leaning his head on his shoulder on one side and Jongdae playing with his fingers on the other, Junmyeon was lulled to a half-conscious state. He could vaguely register Yixing and Lu Han giggling to each other on the floor, and Minseok chatting quietly with Zitao, explaining to him what was going on in the movie. What he did register, however, was the strange scent in his territory. It came from the woods.  
Chanyeol smelled it too, so did Yixing, the other alpha. Junmyeon shook Jongdae’s hand off his, but soothed the hurt look on the beta’s face with a finger pressed to his lips. The omegas were all asleep and even Lu Han was slumped over, snoring softly into his chest. 

“You don’t think…” Chanyeol trailed off. His voice was merely a whisper. Junmyeon shrugged helplessly. He could smell multiple humans, getting closer to the house. 

Minseok stood up from his seat and began making his way towards the sliding doors that led to the woods, Jongdae and Zitao behind him. In the meantime, Yixing and a now-awake Lu Han were waking the omegas and shushing them so they wouldn’t make any noise. Junmyeon didn’t miss the panicked whimper Sehun let out.

“Jongdae,” Junmyeon murmured. The beta looked at him with caution, bottom lip caught between his lips, “Go take the omegas down to the basement and stay with them; Yixing, you too.”

Jongdae nodded, already marching to take Kyungsoo’s hand in one and Baekhyun’s in the other. Yixing grabbed Sehun around the waist and steered him away from Jongin, whom seemed reluctant to part from him. Chanyeol, too; he and Baekhyun shared a look before Baekhyun broke free from Jongdae’s grasp and hugged the tall alpha. Chanyeol squeezed him tight before he let go and allowed Jongdae to take him away. 

Junmyeon waited until he heard the click of the basement door shut and then some more for the beeping of the security system before speaking up. “Alright, I’ll go outside first. Minseok, you follow me two minutes later, and then Lu Han. Chanyeol and Jongin, you two stay here and guard the house. Don’t come out unless I howl. Got it?”

His packmates nodded. Even the boys from Yifan’s pack agreed; they were in his territory. He was the alpha. The night was silent. He couldn’t hear a single sound from the woods, but he could still smell the humans. There were at least five, man and woman alike. They weren’t too far away, maybe one hundred yards from the house. Junmyeon discarded his clothes quickly and shifted; the leaves crunched under his paws. He entered the forest and he had to rely on his instincts to guide him; it was very dark.

Ten yards away from the source, Junmyeon heard a match, the fizzing of fire and some laughter. Junmyeon broke through the bushes and found… a bonfire. The humans he smelt were actually a family of five; a mom, a dad and three kids. They saw him, of course, and immediately scrambled to their feet, running towards the car a few feet from them. Junmyeon almost laughed at the absurdity of the situation until the father got out of the car with a shotgun and fired. Junmyeon didn’t have enough time to react before the bullet was through his front paw. The man was ready to shoot again but his youngest kid started crying and begged him to spare the little doggy. 

‘Yes, spare the little doggy, please.’ Junmyeon thought bitterly. It didn’t hurt that badly; his healing properties kicked in and he was almost good as new but he pretended anyway, whining low on his throat and hopping around. The dad took pity on him and left him be. Junmyeon watched the car disappear from sight just before Minseok and Lu Han showed up. Junmyeon shifted back to human form and so did the other two.  
“Jun!” Minseok gasped when he caught sight of the blood and his injured hand.

“Its fine,” he assured him, “It’s already healing.”

“What happened?” Lu Han asked breathlessly. 

“Just some family camping. I scared them and the dad shot me, but he couldn’t kill me so they just left. No big deal.”

“No big deal?!” it seemed like a big deal to Minseok. “Jun, you were shot!”

“I know,” he said, “And I’m good as new now, see?”

He was; there was no sign of the injury at all. Minseok sighed dejectedly and nodded. He knew there was no point arguing with him.

-

“So there were no hunters?” Baekhyun asked softly, rubbing at his neck. They were back in the living room, the omegas nervously fussing over Junmyeon after they heard what happened. Apparently, they heard the gunshot. Baekhyun had cried with relief when Junmyeon walked through the door unharmed, and even Kyungsoo’s shoulders relaxed. Sehun was still shaken up, but no one could blame him.

“Nope,” Junmyeon said, “Just a family. Seriously Soo, I’m fine.”

The omega blushed but stopped checking over his hand. Junmyeon ruffled his hair. After all the excitement of the night, Junmyeon offered their guests to stay the night at their house; it was late already and he didn’t want them wandering around at that hour. 

Sehun was told to room with Kyungsoo and Jongdae, and of course Jongin went along. Baekhyun told Lu Han and Yixing they could take his bed and he would sleep with Chanyeol. Zitao was put in Junmyeon’s room. 

When Junmyeon went in to check on them, Sehun was curled into a ball on Jongdae’s bed, Jongin loosely wrapped around him as he snored into the omega’s neck. Minseok and Kyungsoo were a mess of limbs on the other bed, heads on the same pillow. Jongdae had insisted he wanted to stay with his alpha that night, and Minseok wasn’t one to say no to him.

In the other room, Lu Han and Yixing slept side by side, arms touching but otherwise maintained an adequate amount of space between them. And the complete opposite of them, Baekhyun slept straddling Chanyeol, face buried in his neck and one of Chanyeol’s large hands at the base of his waist, the other tangled in his hair.

Back in his room, Zitao was asleep on Minseok’s bed, hands fisting the comforter as a makeshift plushie. And on Junmyeon’s bed, Jongdae was still waiting for him, lazily browsing through his phone. Junmyeon padded over to him and Jongdae immediately perked up, locking his phone and placing it on the nightstand before scooting over to the wall to let Junmyeon slide in. The alpha had barely settled in when Jongdae surged forwards, nestling his head on Junmyeon’s chest and throwing one arm over his waist; Junmyeon pulled him just that much closer and let his senses be overwhelmed by the beta as he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did i manage to trick anyone or nah


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this took a ridiculous amount of time to write and i'm sorry - especially since it's so short. I have a clear idea of where this story is going, but no so much how I'm getting it there.

As soon as Junmyeon manages to break free from Jongdae’s grasp, he wanders out of his room. Kyungsoo is already downstairs, making breakfast for everyone, along with Yixing. The alpha seems comfortable in their kitchen, listening to every instruction Kyungsoo gives him and following them diligently. They wave Junmyeon good morning and offer him some coffee before going back to cooking. The air smells like eggs and bacon, freshly brew coffee and toast. 

“Why?” there’s a sudden presence behind Junmyeon and he doesn’t have time to react before Jongdae is wrapping his arms around him and whining into his ear about leaving him all alone. Junmyeon apologizes half-heartedly, too preoccupied with getting his hands on some of that coffee to indulge him too much; however, he does card his fingers through Jongdae’s hair the way he knows the beta loves and that is enough for him to settle down.

“Good morning,” Lu Han singsongs as he waltzes in, a sprint in his step as he leans over to place a loud smooch on Yixing’s cheek; the alpha bats him away with an amused smile.

“You’re up early,” Yixing tells him, flipping the bacon around in one pan and scrambling eggs in the other. Junmyeon can barely manage to cook one thing at a time.

“I got a text,” Lu Han informs them, waving his phone around as he jumps to seat on the kitchen island, “from Yifan.”

Yixing perks up at that, reaching to grab the phone to see the text himself but Lu Han yanks his arm back and tuts. “No, no. We have to wait for the others to come down.” As soon as the words leave his mouth, the three other members of his pack fall through the entryway, Sehun and Zitao pushing each other and Jongin smiling as he trails behind them. Lu Han frowns at Yixing’s smug smile and tosses his phone at the alpha. “Fine,” he grumbles.

“Huh,” Yixing mutters. “That’s weird. Yifan made a typo.”

“What?” Lu Han squeaks, snatching his phone back and pressing the screen to his face. “I didn’t know Yifan was physically capable of typos.”

“What does it say?” the three young wolves are all crowded around their hyungs, eagerly reading the text. “Our apartment at noon, bring your friends.”

Sehun frowns. “What does he mean our friends, Junmyeon hyung’s pack?”

Junmyeon looks up from his breakfast with a dumb look on his face. Jongdae laughs at him, poking his cheek with an index finger and cooing at his expression; Junmyeon bats his hand away with a blush. “Why would he want us there?”

Yixing shrugs, his attention back to the pans sizzling and popping. “Yifan’s weird like that – he probably wants to thank you in person for letting us come here.”

“There’s no need to thank me,” Junmyeon rushes to tell them. Zitao beams brightly at him. “Of course there is! No other alpha would have allowed this.”

That much is true. Regular alphas are usually so territorial, they find it hard to even be near another pack; much less invite them for a sleepover. Then again, Junmyeon has never been a regular alpha. 

“We should be there at three, according to this text,” Lu Han says. After glancing at the clock on the wall, he makes some calculations in his head and nods. “That gives us enough time to have breakfast and showers.”

“Someone should wake up lover boys,” Kyungsoo sighs, the first thing he’s said since Junmyeon came down. Junmyeon, Jongdae and Kyungsoo immediately touch their noses and say “Not it!”

“Is it really that bad?” Sehun asks cautiously. Jongdae gives him a dead-serious look and mutters, “I’ve seen things, Sehun; bad things.”

At that moment, Minseok walks through the sliding doors, sweaty and panting. “Hyung!” Junmyeon greets him, saccharine sweet smile on his lips. “So good to see you!”

“I have to wake them up, don’t I?” Minseok sighs dejectedly.

Junmyeon only nods, shouting about what a good friend he is as Minseok waves a hand at him and grumbles about therapy bills. Chanyeol and Baekhyun don’t look too rumpled when they get downstairs; Baekhyun’s face is a little puffy from sleep and Chanyeol’s hair is a rat nest, but other than that it doesn’t seem like anything indecent happened between them.

At the mention of that, Minseok sighs relieved. “I know - I can’t believe I’m so lucky. I’m never taking anything for granted again.”

“You’re such a drama queen,” Baekhyun mutters, digging into his breakfast. Minseok flick his forehead and the omega whines, rubbing the sore spot with slender fingers. 

-

At three pm sharp, they’re all piling out of their cars outside of the building where Yifan’s pack lives. Junmyeon’s pack walks in with caution, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out they’re uncomfortable – if Chanyeol sniffing around with narrowed eyes isn’t enough indication, then Jongdae and Minseok surrounding the omegas like bodyguards definitely is.

The elevator is big enough for eleven people, a feat Junmyeon marvels at as he marches in after the resident pack loaded inside. It takes the elevator a minute to carry them all the way up to the penthouse and the doors slide open to reveal a wooden door, the real entrance to the apartment. Lu Han fishes around his coat pockets for a few seconds until he finds the keys and he opens the door quickly.

The fresh scent of blood assaults Junmyeon’s senses straightaway. Sehun makes a startled noise at the base of his throat as he scrambles backward, hitting the elevator walls with his back and clinging onto Jongin. Yixing is already walking inside cautiously, after he motions for Lu Han to stay behind with the others. Junmyeon wonders for a second if he should go after him but Chanyeol beats him to it, following the other alpha out even if Baekhyun whimpers out a plea for him to stay with him.

It tears at Junmyeon’s heart the distressed sound his omega makes when he walks out too, but protecting his pack means taking risks and he’ll be damned if he doesn’t go find the source of blood. His brain is screaming at him about the probabilities, but he doesn’t let them grow, pushing them down until he’s bare instinct, following the scent with his nose.

Instead of finding Yifan dead, like he’d assumed, he finds Yifan collapsed in a chair in his office, blood dripping from his chin and staring at a dead human – Yifan’s clothes are suspiciously clean, which leads Junmyeon to guess he’d killed the man when shifted.

“Ge?” Yixing asks carefully, dropping to his knees in front of his alpha and whispering something in Chinese. Yifan says something back to which Yixing nods and rises up. “Junmyeon ah, would you mind keeping the others out of this room? Especially Sehun and Baekhyun. Chanyeol, help me with him.”

Junmyeon doesn’t protest, knows it’s not his place, and does as such. Crowded around the entrance hall with frightened expressions are his pack and Yifan’s; Sehun and Baekhyun are holding each other, Baekhyun doing his best to reassure the young boy that everything is fine.

“Junmyeon,” Lu Han rushes to his side when he sees him, “What happened?”

“Is Yifan hyung…?” Sehun trails off in a whisper, fearful eyes wide open and glassy.

“He’s fine,” Junmyeon, breathes out in relieve. “The blood isn’t is.” He frowns then, thinking back to the scene in the office, and adds, “Not all of it anyway.”

That wasn’t the right thing to say, considering how pale Sehun grows. Jongin shoots him a dirty look and Junmyeon is quick to fix things, explaining how Yifan has some minor scratches but nothing to worry about. 

“Lu Han?” Yixing calls from further inside the apartment and the beta is gone in a flash – Junmyeon wonders when those two are planning to mate. 

“What did you find?” Minseok asks carefully. Junmyeon sighs and slumps against a wall, running a hand through his hair. “I… there’s a dead human in there, and I’m willing to bet our house it was a hunter.”

At the mention of a hunter, Baekhyun sinks to the floor with a distraught whine, Jongdae falling along with him and pulling him into his arms. Junmyeon eyes his omega with hopelessness, wishing there was something he could do to take his fear away. It certainly doesn’t help when Chanyeol ambles out with a large garbage bag slung over his shoulder, not a doubt holding the dead hunter inside. Baekhyun can only burrow further into Jongdae’s chest as Chanyeol walks past him as quickly as possible, Lu Han right behind him as they climb into the elevator and go down.

-

Two hours later, with Yifan freshly showered and the omegas finally calm after Baekhyun had a full-on panic attack when he saw Yifan’s state and triggered Sehun’s caterwauls, they all settle around the living room and listen to Yifan’s story.

“They ambushed me,” Yifan confesses. “I was on my way home last night after meeting with our Ambassador when something knocked me out.” He touches the back of his head gingerly and accepts the ice pack Jongin offers him with a tight smile. 

“When I woke up I was tied to a chair in my office and I was surrounded by three, maybe four hunters. I mean, there were only three in the room but I could smell the fourth one was close by. They were discussing among themselves, and then one picked up a needle and injected my arm – I’m not sure what it was, but I couldn’t shift until two hours ago. The other hunters continued screaming at each other but I was drowsy, no doubt drugged out of my mind, and their unbearable accents didn’t make it any easier so I didn’t understand a word.

“They left around noon, and that’s when I shifted and killed the one that was guarding me. I’m not even sure how long I sat there, just… looking at him.”

That sounds a lot to Junmyeon as if it is the first time Yifan’s had to kill anyone. The alpha feels a spark of sympathy for the Chinese alpha at the thought – he’s never had to take a life before, and he’s grateful for that. 

“What kind of accent?” Minseok asks him. “Maybe if we figure out where they’re from, we can alert the Ambassador and he can help us.”

“I wouldn’t count on it,” Baekhyun murmurs, picking at a loose thread on his shirt. “When my pack was killed, I knew exactly who did it but the Ambassador was useless. I gave him the perfect description of the men and he said it wasn’t enough. So let’s just forget about the old sot and work things out ourselves.”

No one dares to argue; Baekhyun is pretty scary when he’s upset, but they all know he is one bad word away from breaking down again and nobody wants that. 

“The accent,” Yifan sighs, “I’m not sure but it sounded… from Gyeonggi, maybe?”

“Gyeonggi dialect is quite distinctive,” Jongdae muses. “Hunters there are common.”

“Yeah,” Baekhyun shrugs. Of course Baekhyun would know – he is originally from Gyeonggi. So is Jongdae, but the beta never had a problem with hunters there.

“I think you should rest,” Junmyeon tells Yifan. He doesn’t just mean Yifan but Baekhyun and Sehun too – however, he knows Baekhyun is at a place where he’ll probably feel angry if anyone even hints at any kind of weakness from him, and Junmyeon would rather leave this building with everyone’s heads still attached to their bodies.

“Can we stay with you?” Lu Han asks without preamble. Yifan glares at his beta but Lu Han rolls his eyes at him and says, “This is obviously not a safe place anymore. Who’s to say the other hunters won’t be coming back for their friend? They texted us to come here – there’s no way they’re not after us.”

“You’ll stay with us until it’s safe,” Junmyeon nods. Even if Yifan tries to argue with him at first, Junmyeon reminds him they made a deal to help each other out and the alpha agrees albeit reluctantly. Junmyeon tells him he can share a bed with Zitao in his room and that they all already have designed roommates so it won’t be a problem.

When everyone’s off packing clothes and textbooks to stay with them for at least two weeks, Yifan thanks Junmyeon profusely for taking care of his pack and the younger alpha grins at him, patting him on the shoulder and tells him he knows he’d do the same. It’s a little scary how quickly Yifan agrees that yes, he really would have done the same, but it still eases Junmyeon’s nerves, and they wait together for the pack to group in the living room.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the pairings are: chanbaek, xiusoo, suchen, hunhan, kaixing and brief!sulay for the angst :)

Junmyeon and Yixing are in guard duty for the night. After discussing it with Yifan and their betas, the two alphas set up a schedule for vigilance, with assigned pairings and timetables that not only ensures everyone’s safety, but also doesn’t interfere with their school. Tonight it’s the alpha’s turn, and he and Yixing are circling the house separately, communicating through walkie-talkies when necessary.

The night sky is lit up with a half moon, clouds occasionally blocking the orb but drifting away quickly. After checking his watch for the tenth time in five minutes, Junmyeon turns the walkie-talkie on and brings it closer to his mouth.

“Yixing,” he sighs, “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” the breathy response comes through the radio. 

Junmyeon halts for a second, thinking. Is he really going to ask him this? He’s always valued privacy and he’s not exactly close with the other alpha. Then again, the curiosity is gnawing at him and in the end he can’t help but ask, “Are you and Lu Han a couple?”

There’s silence on the other line. And then Yixing is laughing. Junmyeon stares at the radio in confusion until Yixing gasps out, “What makes you think that? God, no.”

“But, I saw… I thought…” Junmyeon splutters, perplexed. Junmyeon figured they were together because they were always hanging off each other, always touching in a way that reminded Junmyeon of Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

“Lu Han is my best friend. He was my first friend when I arrived to the city; I took comfort in the familiarity of our mother tongues, you see,” Yixing explains, laughter subdued. “But we are not together, not at all. If anything,” he adds as a second thought, “I think Lu Han is thinking about courting Sehun.”

“Hold up,” Junmyeon mutters, walkie-talkie grasped tightly in his hands, “I thought Sehun and Jongin were -”

“No,” Yixing denies, a hint of laughter laced in his voice, “They might be inseparable but there is no chance they’ll ever mate.”

“My whole life has been a lie,” Junmyeon murmurs. Yixing laughs again but this time it’s much closer, too close for it to come from the radio and Junmyeon wipes his head back to find Yixing walking in his direction, an easy smile on his face.

“Did you really think Lu Han and I was an item?” he asks him. Junmyeon stutters out a string of excuses that Yixing probably find dumb, but the other alpha placates him with an arm slung over his shoulder as he steers him to the house to get some rest.

-

They arrive to school all twelve together, much to their human classmates’ confusion. They aren’t aware of the packs or the existence of wolves, but after so long in the same schools, they’ve learned that the two groups aren’t big fans of each other; so Junmyeon isn’t surprised to see every other student in the area turn and gape at where their group is walking inside the building.

The Ambassador, as is his official title, made sure when they started kindergarten that all wolves be enrolled in the schools in the neutral area – right in the middle of their territories, just off the Han River. Supposedly, it was so there wouldn’t be any territorial disputes between the packs, but even the elders that appointed him years ago know the truth: he just wants to keep the wolves under his watch. 

Junmyeon ignores the stares to his best capacity as he makes his way to his locker, Minseok in tow. The beta is telling him all about the drama he’s currently watching with elaborate hand gestures and many sound effects, but Junmyeon is only halfway listening to him, his attention on Yixing. 

He’s not even sure why he can’t stop thinking about the other alpha, not ever since last night. Their conversation certainly left Junmyeon’s brain feeling like pudding, but it isn’t the revelations that have him reeling, but rather Yixing himself. In those few minutes after turning in from patrol, while they drank water and turned in for the night, Junmyeon had taken the time to look at Yixing and he’s baffled to find himself thinking that the alpha is rather attractive. He feels dirty just thinking about it, as if he’s cheating on Jongdae – which is ridiculous because he and Jongdae aren’t even together.

“Hey, Jun,” Minseok is snapping his fingers in front of Junmyeon’s face – the younger boy pushes him away with a half-hearted scowl. Minseok smiles at the look on his friend’s face. “You were spacing out there, are you alright?”

“Yeah,” Junmyeon sighs, shutting his locker door close. He rearranges the backpack on his shoulder and lumbers towards first period, Minseok right behind him. “I was just thinking.”

“About?” Minseok prompts. It takes a few seconds for Junmyeon to decide whether to tell him or not; after all, Minseok is his best friend and his beta, but he’s not even sure what he’s thinking.

In the end, he says, “Nothing.”

Minseok shrugs, dropping the subject – he knows better than to push the alpha when he clearly doesn’t want to talk about it. 

Instead, he changes the topic to their upcoming Physics exam later that day; the one Junmyeon didn’t study for one bit. The younger boy groans in despair while Minseok gets his History textbook and shoves it inside his messenger’s bag. “I can’t believe I forgot about that,” he moans miserably. Minseok, a teasing smirk on his lips, doesn’t even pretend his friend’s suffering doesn’t amuse him. Junmyeon scowls again and leaves him behind.

For the rest of the day, Junmyeon has to endure the curious glances both packs are subjected to courtesy of their classmates. 

Some brave souls even dare to ask why the recent development, to which Jongin comes up with a half-assed excuse about family business that not one person seems to buy. Even their teachers look surprised when during P.E Yixing pairs up with Baekhyun for the three-legged race - or when their Biology teacher has them change lab partners and Jongin sits next to Kyungsoo with a smile. 

It isn’t much, to be honest, but Junmyeon is immensely proud of his boys for working so hard to get along with their new “friends.” It isn’t easy to erase the past, or to ignore their instincts, but at least they make it through the entire day without anyone snapping at anyone or – thank God – ripping anyone to limbs. And with the history between their packs, it wouldn’t surprise Junmyeon if they did end up fighting sooner rather than later.

Their Chemistry teacher, a middle-aged woman with no brain to mouth filter, gasps in surprise when she walks into her fifth period senior class and finds Minseok and Lu Han talking quietly in the corner. If anyone other than the alphas were going to have more problems getting along than the rest of the wolves, it would be them – it is in their nature to be protective of their packs, as head Betas, and Junmyeon is delighted to see them so friendly so easily.

Overall, despite how irritating it is to have everyone gaping at them all day, Junmyeon gets through the day with a smile on his face.

-

“You wanted to meet me?”

School has let out already. It took Junmyeon a little longer to leave due to their Literature teacher holding him back to discuss his latest score, but he’s finally walking through the gates. Yifan is waiting for him by the entrance on his motorcycle, phone in hand while he plays what sounds suspiciously like Candy Crush.

“Yes,” Yifan says, sliding his phone in the front pocket of his school jacket. “I’d like to talk to you. Alone,” he clarifies with a pointed look at where Minseok is walking towards them. Junmyeon thinks about it and nods, raises a hand to signal Yifan to wait for him and jogs to meet with Minseok halfway.

“Hyung, I’m going with Yifan today,” he informs his beta. Minseok looks surprised, eyebrows nearly disappearing in his hairline.

“Really?” he drawls out, “What for?”

Junmyeon shrugs. “I don’t know, he says he wants to talk. I don’t know what about,” he adds. Minseok doesn’t seem too convinced to let him go alone, but a shout of his name has him turning around to find Chanyeol waving at him from his car, the junior practically hanging out the driver’s window. They watch as Kyungsoo pulls on his ear viciously before climbing into the backseat, Chanyeol whining in protest. 

“Go,” Junmyeon prods, making shooing motions. “I’ll be fine, hyung. I can take care of myself.”

Minseok purses his lips but agrees. He waves goodbye to Yifan and rushes to where their packmates are waiting for him. Junmyeon watches them pull away from the parking lot and merge into traffic before turning back to Yifan, who is waiting patiently for him. 

“What do you want to talk about?” he asks the other alpha. Yifan nods to the back of the motorcycle and says, “Come on, I don’t feel safe out here.”

Junmyeon raises an incredulous eyebrow. “First of all, this ain’t Twilight. I’m not jumping on the back of your motorcycle so you can take me to the woods to meet your shirtless pack.” Yifan barks out a laugh and Junmyeon continues: “Second, where are you planning to take me?”

“Well, you already met my pack and know they don’t go around shirtless,” Yifan says, “Jongin used to do that but we implemented new house rules. And to answer your question, we are going to the woods. There’s a nice place I used to go to when I was little, when the other pack was in place.”

“Is this a date?” Junmyeon teases him.

“No,” Yifan laughs again, “Sorry, but you’re not my style.”

Junmyeon shoves him, muttering, “I’m everyone’s style.”

-

The nice place Yifan takes him to turns out to be a clearing in a forest in northern Seoul. It really is nice, green grass stretching out for several hundred feet, beds of flowers spread around and surrounded by tall trees. Junmyeon spies a couple rabbits and squirrels running around while Yifan leads him to a white little gazebo.

“My father,” Yifan tells him, “Built this here as a gift for my mother as a wedding present.” He then points a little ways down the clearing and says, “My parents, along with my grandparents, are all buried over there.”

“Your grandfather was the old alpha, right?” Junmyeon asks. 

“Yes,” Yifan nods, “I was appointed the next alpha by the elders before they left for retirement in Jeju when I turned thirteen.”

“Really? I was eleven when they appointed me,” Junmyeon shares, not without a hint of mirth in his voice. Yifan gives him an onceover and smirks as he looks away.

“Where did your old pack go, after you took charge?” Yifan asks.

“Most of them moved to Jeju,” Junmyeon muses, “That does seem to be a hot spot for old wolves. A few moved to the neutral area. What about yours?”

“Jeju,” Yifan echoes, “There weren’t many left after that fight, you know.”

Junmyeon nods; he knows. Their packs got into a big fight over their territory almost ten years ago and many wolves died. After that, the elders rushed the choosing of the new head alphas before leaving the city – if Junmyeon isn’t mistaken, their homes in the neutral area now host packless wolves. 

“What did you want to talk about?” Junmyeon asks minutes later. They’re sitting shoulder to shoulder in the gazebo, and up until now, Junmyeon’s been more than happy to watch the trees swaying in the wind.

“Our packs are getting along,” Yifan begins, “I thought maybe we should discuss some things, you and I, before anything happens. For instance, I can tell you’re starting to crush on Yixing – snap out of it.”

Junmyeon isn’t sure how to react. Yifan looks far too calm for someone who just told another alpha to stop crushing. “I’m not crushing on Yixing,” he protests, red dusting across his cheeks. 

Yifan has the audacity to snort. “Right. Well, it’s not like I’m against relationships between packs, or between alphas for that matter – but Jongin really likes Yixing; he may not show it, but I can tell. Not to mention, I noticed you and that beta have a little thing going on; you shouldn’t ruin it. I can tell he likes you very much.”

“Jongdae and I aren’t together,” Junmyeon bristles, now getting angrier. “And don’t you think you have any right to decide what I do. I may have agreed to work with you, but that doesn’t mean -”

“I’m not telling you what to do,” Yifan clarifies, a clear attempt to pacify him, “I’m advising you to stay with Jongdae and forget about Yixing. Jongin isn’t good when it comes to romantic feelings and I don’t want him to get hurt. And besides, what you have with the beta, even if you don’t realize it, seems strong. So please?”

Junmyeon scowls, looking anywhere but at Yifan. His mind is plagued with images of Jongdae, especially of how heartbroken he’ll be if Junmyeon decides to pursue Yixing – just the thought of his smile twisting into a frown is enough to twist a knife into his heart.

He sighs. “Alright, I’ll stay away from Yixing. And it’s not a crush,” he mumbles. 

Yifan smiles, but he doesn’t look happy. “Yixing… he’s sweet, but a little clueless. He may not even notice Jongin is after him – or that you’re interested. It’s best if he doesn’t know about it, alright?” Junmyeon agrees reluctantly, grumbling under his breath.   
“Is that all you wanted to talk about?” Junmyeon asks. 

“I have a question, actually,” Yifan says, “What’s the deal with Baekhyun and Chanyeol.”

Junmyeon laughs aloud at that. Yifan looks slightly offended, eyebrows pinched together, but Junmyeon placates him with, 

“They’re together. I think they’re waiting to be of age to mate.”

“Makes sense,” Yifan mumbles. “What about your beta, Minseok? I could smell him all over Kyungsoo.”

“Minseok likes to subtly lay his claim,” Junmyeon states. “They’re not mated, they haven’t even confessed even though it’s glaringly obvious they like each other – it’s more noticeable with Minseok hyung. He’s been scenting Kyungsoo for a year now.”

“They’ll be mating soon,” Yifan contemplates, “There’s a full moon coming up. Unless they can get their hormones under control, you’ll have little pups running around the house in no time.”

Junmyeon groans. “Don’t remind me,” he pleads. “Jongdae gets so needy -”

He stops abruptly when he realizes what he was about to share. Yifan is looking at him with amusement in his eyes, and Junmyeon resists the urge to smack him – however, the thought of a full moon now distracts him. He has never complained about taking care of Jongdae during the full moons because he knows the beta has too many omegas in his family and some of their tendencies are simply in his DNA; for example, he can get whiny and needy of affection as a side effect of the moon, and Junmyeon indulges him because he likes to.

“Forget it,” he snaps when Yifan continues to stare at him like he’s a particularly funny joke.

-

“What did he want?” Minseok questions him the moment he walks through the door.

Yifan sends the beta a raised eyebrow at the tone, but Junmyeon doesn’t give them time to start arguing, steering Minseok away. He hears the other alpha scoffing and follow the sound of his packmates to the kitchen. Meanwhile, Junmyeon takes Minseok to their room. Shutting the door quietly behind them, Junmyeon takes a deep breath and faces Minseok, who is sitting on the edge of his bed expectantly.

He tells Minseok everything he talked about with Yifan, especially the part about Jongdae and Yixing because he could really use some advice at the moment. When he’s done, Minseok takes a moment to think about his answer.

“You’re not going to like it,” Minseok tells him. “But Yifan is right. Just listen,” he insists when Junmyeon throws his hands up in the air in exasperation, “You and Jongdae are the real thing here. You adore him; he practically worships the ground you walk on… Junmyeon, don’t ruin what you have with him by chasing after another alpha, especially if it’ll hurt two people instead of just one.”

Junmyeon stares at the beta for a long time; Minseok holds his gaze steadily. Finally, Junmyeon says, “I don’t know if I like Yixing or not. And I don’t know what is is that Jongdae and I are. I’m going to figure both things out, and I’d appreciate it if people stayed clear of my business.”

It comes out harsher than he meant it, but Minseok doesn’t look hurt – he looks rather disappointed. Junmyeon expects him to argue with him, but instead all Minseok does is nod his head and leave him alone, mumbling something about patrol with Baekhyun. Junmyeon watches him leave with a frown.

-

“Are you alright?” Jongdae questions him that night. Zitao and Yifan are on the other bed in a snoring competition, and Junmyeon wishes he could mourn the loss of sleep in peace, but it’s hard to do so with Jongdae nosing at his jaw. His lips are dangerously close to Junmyeon’s throat, brushing against his skin when he talks.

“I’m fine,” Junmyeon rasps out. He senses Jongdae about to ask further and mumbles, “Just sleep, Jongdae-yah.”

Jongdae hates it when Junmyeon shuts him down, but he must be too tired to argue with him because he shuffles closer and falls asleep quickly. Junmyeon lays awake longer, staring at the ceiling and thinking.

He’s nineteen now, the perfect age for wolves to start looking for a mate – at the prime of their youth, the strongest he’ll ever be. If his parents were still around, they’d probably be pushing him to court an omega in the neutral area or maybe one from another city. Surprisingly, the idea doesn’t settle well with him; he tries to picture the perfect omega for him, but all he gets are images of Jongdae’s kittenish lips curling beautifully when he smiles at him, the way his long eyelashes cast shadows over his cheekbones.

And then Yixing with his dimple and his twinkling eyes replaces Jongdae. The thought surprises him, and it is definitely uncalled for, but Junmyeon can’t falls asleep for a long time.

Thankfully, Jongdae’s sleepy mumbles are the perfect lullaby – Junmyeon thinks that, if there’s one person in the world he wouldn’t mind sleeping next to for the rest of his life, it’s Jongdae.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one has some fluff sprinkled on top *.*

The Ambassador asks Junmyeon and Yifan to meet him in Gangdong-gu, close to the border to Busan. 

It’s a long ride from Junmyeon’s pack house in Guro-gu and Lu Han makes sure to let them know just how annoyed he is, twisting around in the backseat and kicking the back of Yifan’s seat constantly. Junmyeon feels a little like a stressed-out soccer mom everytime he shoots the Beta a look to settle down. Minseok is of no help, passed out and snoring with his head against the window.

Yifan drives calmly without sparing a look at Lu Han, which in Junmyeon’s opinion only makes things worse, because Lu Han is in some ways a small child and gets petulant when no one pays attention to him. It takes a very well placed growl from Yifan after Lu Han kicks particularly hard and they nearly swerve into the other lane for the Beta to finally calm down, but it doesn’t stop him from sulking.

Gangdong-gu is a dangerous district. Even though it’s in Junmyeon’s territory, he tries not to go there too often, and he certainly makes sure his omegas don’t step foot in here unless they’re accompanied by either him or Chanyeol - even then, Junmyeon can count with one hand the amount of times Baekhyun and Kyungsoo have been to Gangdong-gu combined.

They park the car in the place where the Ambassador said to meet him but don’t get out, staring at the scene. There are multiple patrol cars lining the street, a coroner’s van parked in the corner and men in suits are walking up and down the road. The Ambassador himself, an old man with greying hair and a stern face, is waiting for them just behind the police line.

“Sir,” Junmyeon greets him, eyeing the white sheets on the floor with apprehension. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what’s under them. “You called?”

“Junmyeon-ssi,” the Ambassador smiles; it’s a cold smile, one Junmyeon is accustomed to. “And Yifan-ssi. I see you’re not alone,” he adds, looking over Junmyeon’s shoulder at Minseok and Lu Han. “I certainly hope you didn’t leave your packs alone.”

“They’re protected,” is all Junmyeon says. The Ambassador’s job is to keep the packs in line and protect their secret, but that doesn’t mean Junmyeon trusts him. “What’s going on?”

The Ambassador tilts his head to the side, in the direction of the white sheets. One of the men in suits, a young man, lifts the police tape and lets them into the scene. A police officer clears the scene and soon it’s just them, the Ambassador and a police Sergeant. 

“We have a problem,” the Ambassador states, lifting one white sheet. The body underneath is mutilated beyond recognition, the face slashed and bloody – the only distinguishable feature is the bite mark on the side of the neck, healed and whitish. “This pack came to Seoul last night to talk to me,” the Ambassador speaks. “The alpha’s name was Na Hakyeon. I can’t know for sure it’s him, but since none of you looks particularly sad, I think it’s safe to say none of the dead are yours.”

The nonchalance with which the man speaks about the death of an entire pack makes Junmyeon sick and a glance back tells him that his companions feel the same: Minseok can’t bring himself to look away from the dead boy on the floor, eyes round and glassy; Lu Han is sickly pale, like he’ll throw up any second; and Yifan seems to be on the verge of throttling the Ambassador. Junmyeon can relate to that.

“Why did you ask us here?” Junmyeon asks.

“I’m sure you already know there are hunters in Seoul,” the Ambassador says. “Clearly, this is their work. I called you here to warn you – this is what will happen if they find you.”

“You think we don’t know that?” Yifan growls unexpectedly. It’s the first he’s said since they arrived, and the anger in his voice surprises Junmyeon. “How about you tell us how to survive instead of showing us the corpses of a pack?”

The Ambassador’s mouth twitches like he’s about to smile, but the movement is over as soon as it starts. “Very well,” he says. “I know you two joined forces for now – stay in Junmyeon’s house and never go out alone, much less at night. Cancel patrols, I already have my men going around town. And most importantly, never leave the omegas alone; they are the most vulnerable ones and hunters know to go after them if they want to harm a pack.”

Yifan nods gruffly and leaves, Lu Han following after him with a worried frown. Minseok stands shoulder to shoulder with Junmyeon, waiting for the Ambassador to say anything else, maybe explain why this pack was in town, but the man simply dismisses them.

-

“What did he want?” Chanyeol asks first thing when they get back to the house. Jongdae is in the kitchen with Baekhyun, helping him bake cookies for tonight’s movie marathon, and Junmyeon only needs to shoot him a pointed look for the beta to suggest going to the pantry to get more chocolate chips, the older boy agreeing easily and slipping out of sight.

Junmyeon sighs, running a hand through his hair tiredly. His mind was already a jumbled mess from the hellish math exam he had during first period, and after meeting with the Ambassador he can’t even put two and two together. 

“He… showed us something,” he starts. Chanyeol only looks more intrigued, following after his leader to the living room and plopping down on the couch with him. “A pack from another city came here to meet with him but they were killed,” he whispers.

Chanyeol’s eyes widen considerably, looking very much like the child he is. Junmyeon doesn’t protest when the other alpha crawls under his arm, seeking comfort. “Hunters?”

“Yeah,” he confirms. The image of those wolves, slaughtered and left on the sidewalk like trash won’t go away. “It was nasty.”

“I’m sorry you had to see that” Chanyeol tells him, and it isn’t what Junmyeon was expecting. Then again, the younger boy is always surprising him. Back in the kitchen, Baekhyun laughs loudly at whatever Jongdae says and a fluttery feeling fills Junmyeon from inside.

Minseok is somewhere on the bottom floor of the house, probably seeking out Kyungsoo as usual. Junmyeon wishes he could freeze time and keep his pack like these, happy and together, Chanyeol cuddled up to him and his omegas perfectly safe.

Alas, he can’t do that. He remembers the way two of those wolves had been holding hands even after death and his heart aches when he thinks that perhaps they were mates, or soon to be or maybe even just best friends, and he wants to rip the hunters limb by limb at just the thought of his packmates being in their place.

A sudden whine fills the air and Junmyeon snaps his head up to find Baekhyun standing in the doorway connecting the kitchen and living, arms crossed across his chest and pouting. There’s a bit of smudged flour on his cheek. “Why didn’t you tell me there was cuddling going on?” he demands.

Chanyeol laughs loudly, the way he always does, and extends an arm out as invitation. Baekhyun happily complies and bounces over, landing halfway on Chanyeol and half on Junmyeon but doesn’t move, nosing his way around until his chin is under Junmyeon’s head and his arms are around them both. 

Of course, not a minute later Jongdae finds them and joins them too, digging a knee into Chanyeol’s ribcage and sending the alpha a playful smile when he complains. Soon enough, Minseok and Kyungsoo too are cuddled up with them, Kyungsoo breathing placidly into Baekhyun’ s neck and allowing Junmyeon to card fingers through his hair.

Junmyeon thinks he could spend the rest of his life like these, warm and comfortable, the scent of his packmates all around him. He’s almost fully asleep when he hears Baekhyun murmur something, sliding out of their grasp. Jongdae groans at being jostled but shuts up promptly, which has Junmyeon cracking an eye open.

Baekhyun is arranging Sehun to fit between him and Kyungsoo, the youngest omega looking shy even as he lets Baekhyun wrap both arms around his waist and curls into Kyungsoo. By this point, they should probably move the party to either a bed or the floor, but gravity does the job for them and they land on the carpet with a huff and soft giggles. However, no one moves.

One by one, Yifan’s packmates join them, carefully seeking out whoever they’re most comfortable with and sliding into the giant puppy pile they’ve created. Even Yifan lands on the floor, after Lu Han silently tugs at his pants from where he’s curled up with Jongin and Yixing.   
Junmyeon can’t remember the last time his house was so silent, only filled with calm breathing and the occasional whispers before it fades back to nothing, but he lets it lull him to sleep.

-

The next morning everyone is still in the pile, and even if Junmyeon has someone’s elbows in his stomach and he’s kind of suffocating with their hair, he snuggles closer to the source of heat. He can hear Chanyeol mumble in his sleep, sees Sehun sniff the top of Kyungsoo’s head and even witnesses Yifan clutching Zitao to him, and Junmyeon feels a smile threaten to stretch his face to epic proportions.

Whoever is in his arms groans as they wake up, burrowing into Junmyeon’s chest and mumbling something Junmyeon doesn’t understand - Chinese, maybe? But Yifan and Zitao are near the edge, and Junmyeon can see the top of Lu Han’s head from where he’s buried under Jongin and Minseok alike, which leaves…

“Yixing?” he asks quietly, careful not to wake anyone else. The younger alpha peeks up at him and smiles tiredly in greeting.

Junmyeon is suddenly aware of how close they are; how easily someone could misinterpret the situation and roughly reminded that Jongdae is two feet away, curled under Chanyeol’s arms. Not to mention Jongin is facing their direction – all he’d have to do is open his eyes.

“What time is it?” Yixing croaks out, sitting up carefully so he doesn’t jostle anyone around him. Junmyeon watches him scratch his neck distractedly with a dumb look on his face that he has to will away when the alpha turns to look at him again.

Junmyeon makes a conscious effort to unglue his tongue from the roof of his mouth to answer, “I don’t know.”

The head alpha can’t help but notice how handsome Yixing is even in the early morning, his hair plastered to his face and shirt wrinkled. To his right Chanyeol is rousing from slumber, which means Jongdae will probably wake up soon too. 

Yixing moves away, stepping around limbs and heads until he makes it out safely. Junmyeon watches him go into the kitchen, most likely to make breakfast, and wonders why his heart is beating faster now.

-  
Junmyeon doesn’t notice, but the others do. Minseok is always telling him he’s too oblivious for his own good, and perhaps that’s true, because he doesn’t see it.

He doesn’t see the frown on Jongin’s face whenever Yixing latches on to Junmyeon, laughing and sharing hushed conversations.

He doesn’t see the way Jongdae shuts down anytime Junmyeon chooses to run alongside Yixing instead of him when they hunt.

He doesn’t see the glares sent his way from Yifan when they volunteer to go grocery shopping together, Yixing disregarding Jongin’s offer to go with him instead so Junmyeon could stay behind to help out with cleaning like Kyungsoo pointedly asks him to.

Maybe Junmyeon truly is s clueless as everyone is always saying he is, but this is the first time he hurts someone because of it.

Too bad he doesn’t notice.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAANGGGSSSSTTT

When Junmyeon was twelve, he had his first bump on the road as an alpha. Chanyeol had been acting up around him, defying his authority by not doing as he was told and making fun of Junmyeon. 

One evening, after their caretaker had gone home and the six wolves were alone in their new pack house, Chanyeol made an offhanded comment about Junmyeon’s height and the head alpha snapped, wolfing out right in the middle of the kitchen and snarling at him.

Of course, Chanyeol was an alpha too and never one to back down from a fight, so he shifted too. Junmyeon doesn’t remember much about the fight itself, but he remembers clearly when he woke up the next morning with a pounding headache and a frantic Baekhyun fussing over him.

His packmate told him that he and Chanyeol almost destroyed the kitchen before Minseok stepped in, his little thirteen-year-old body morphing to a slightly bigger one of a wolf and driving them out to the backyard while Jongdae took the omegas upstairs. After that, they allegedly fought for hours, until Chanyeol rammed into him from the side and knocked him into a tree, rendering him unconscious.

When Junmyeon asked Baekhyun why he wasn’t with Chanyeol, since the two of them had been inseparable from the moment they met, the omega said he couldn’t deal with Chanyeol’s alpha ego at the moment; Junmyeon then asked if he didn’t have the same ego and Baekhyun had smiled.

“You don’t, because if you did, you would have thorn Chanyeol’s throat out the first time he stepped out of line.”

That simple response stuck with Junmyeon for years. It’s true that Junmyeon let a lot of things slip by, but he wondered if that meant he wasn’t a good alpha – that worry kept him up at night until he was fifteen and confessed his insecurities to Jongdae.

“Hyung, don’t be stupid,” was the beta’s answer. “Your lack of ego is what makes you the best alpha. You listen to us, you ask everyone before making a decision that affects all of us and you don’t let little things rile you up.”

Junmyeon never considered himself to be a good alpha, because he was smaller than average and lacked the physical strength that others of his status took for granted. And yet, Jongdae made him question that.

And watching the way Yixing, a rather short alpha with not as much muscle as the others, holds his own during the hunt, gives Junmyeon a spark of hope.

He ignores Chanyeol’s big wolf, jet black and intimidating; he ignores Yifan’s wolf, white as snow and faster than everyone else; he focuses on the way Yixing runs around the woods, reddish brown fur a blur as he takes down prey after prey, from rabbits to squirrels to small deer.

The omegas didn’t join them tonight because Sehun has never been hunting before and they didn’t want to risk it, even if Baekhyun looks put out when he’s denied from going to the forest to run. Kyungsoo is more sympathetic and he promises to take good care of Sehun while they’re alone. 

Per Baekhyun’s insistence, Yifan agrees to let them teach him how to hunt some other time – with daylight and at least two alphas present. Sehun is delighted to hear the news, smiling wildly as Baekhyun gloats about being the best hunter in the pack. 

He’s not lying – omegas are always the smallest wolves in the packs, but that doesn’t stop Baekhyun from being an ace at hunting; in fact, he uses his size to his advantage, sneaking up on big animals and tackling them to the ground, tearing their throats out in a second.

Junmyeon gets his head in the game again when he hears rustling to his right and manages to kill a big fox before hunting time is over and they go back to the house. Baekhyun is bouncing on his feet as he waits for them at the entrance of the home, eyes lighting up when he spies the wide variety of game the boys brought back.

“Rabbit!” he squeals delightedly, running to Chanyeol and stealing the small animal from between his teeth. The alpha whines low in his throat when Baekhyun retreats back to the house without giving him a second glance and Junmyeon head-butts him softly in the side.

They shift back to their human form after dropping their hunt in the various baskets Kyungsoo left outside for them, putting their clothes back on and taking the hampers inside.

“Finally,” Kyungsoo grumbles, getting off the couch when he spies them walk in. “Baekhyun was getting annoying.”

“I was not!” Baekhyun yells from the kitchen – the scent of cooked rabbit wafts through the air when he pushes the door open and walks out with a plate balanced on one hand and a can of coke in the other.

Kyungsoo gives him an unimpressed look, rolls his eyes and grabs the basket nearest to him, the one Yifan is holding. Junmyeon never ceases to be amused at the sight of Yifan cowering whenever Kyungsoo looks his way, maybe because the other alpha isn’t used to such feisty omegas; from what Junmyeon has seen Sehun is as tame as they come.

“I’m starving!” Jongdae exclaims from somewhere in the house. He’d stayed behind with the omegas for security purposes while the other betas joined the alphas in the woods. Junmyeon knows that all his packmates love hunting, so he makes sure to compensate them with their favourite meals - rabbit, squirrel and deer.

“I’ll get these cooked,” Kyungsoo says to no one in particular, retreating to the kitchen. “Chanyeol!” he barks after a few seconds, and the tall alpha nearly trips over his own feet in the haste to go help, Baekhyun and Jongdae giggling to each other in the background. Junmyeon watches them with a fond smile, uncaring when Minseok calls him a sap.

Yixing takes his basket and follows Chanyeol, a small smile on his face. Junmyeon, along with Minseok, Jongin and Zitao, take the rest of the baskets to the freezer in the den to store them for later. So far, they have enough food kept away to last them a few weeks in hiding, but Junmyeon hopes it doesn’t get to that.

Dinner is a quite affair tonight, only the sound of chewing and the occasional conversation interrupting the silence. Junmyeon eats sandwiched between Jongdae and Chanyeol, the beta leaning his head on his shoulder when he’s done eating with a sigh. It sends a flutter through Junmyeon’s stomach to be in close contact to him, but his eyes wander to where Yixing is sitting on the other end of the table.

The alpha has one arm thrown over Lu Han, the beta scowling and trying to push him off to no avail; Yixing makes kissy noises at him when Lu Han tries to wriggle away, laughing even louder when all he accomplishes is falling off his chair.

Junmyeon is distracted by Jongin getting up from the table, picking up his plate and practically running away. Sehun follows after him with a frown, and the door to the kitchen closes with a slam.

The table is silent; Baekhyun is frozen with Chanyeol’s glass inches from his lips, and Yixing blinks owlishly at the door with wonder. Lu Han doesn’t seem too surprised at the outburst, but perhaps a little guilty.

“Junmyeon,” Yifan says sharply. The younger alpha is almost afraid to look his way. “Can I talk to you?”

The last thing Junmyeon hears is Chanyeol’s perplexed, “What the fuck?” before Yifan is dragging him out of the house.

They’re not even twenty feet from the entrance when Yifan spins him around and grips his arm with a little harsher than probably needed. Junmyeon brushes him off with a scoff. “What do you want?”

“Didn’t I ask you to back off?” Yifan demands. 

“And I did!” Junmyeon defends himself. At the incredulous look Yifan gives him he sighs, because he knows that isn’t entirely true. “I wasn’t even doing anything tonight,” he grumbles.

Yifan is exasperated, pinching his nose. “Maybe,” he concedes. “But that doesn’t mean you haven’t been doing anything lately.”

Junmyeon murmurs a few things under his breath. They’re both standing with their arms crossed over their chest, in what Kyungsoo had baptised the ‘Prideful Alpha Stance’; the name was born after a few fights between Junmyeon and Chanyeol were both would take the pose and stare each other down, waiting for their opponent to back down. 

“Listen,” Junmyeon says. “I like Yixing – as a friend or as something else, I don’t know. I told you this already. And I’m sorry about Jongin, but that isn’t my fault.”

“And Jongdae?” Yifan asks. “What about him? Why don’t you think about him? He’s head over heels for you, don’t you see?”

“Oh my god,” Junmyeon moans. “Jongdae and I aren’t together! What he and I have is none of your business, but since you seem so interested, here it is – we fuck. But I don’t have an interest in him as a mate! Understood?”

Junmyeon is left breathless after his outburst. Yifan has his lips pursed in a disappointed manner and looking at somewhere behind Junmyeon. The younger boy feels his heart drop to the bottom of his stomach when he turns around and is met with Jongdae, standing not too far away, eyes glassy and mouth hanging open in shock.

“Dae…” Junmyeon tries, but Jongdae turns around and practically runs back to the house. The alpha chases after him, nearly knocking Jongin to the ground in his haste to go follow Jongdae up the stairs but is a miniscule of a second too late and gets the bedroom door shut in his face. 

“Jongdae,” he calls, rattling the doorknob, but it’s locked. He can’t hear anything from inside except for the occasional sniff. 

“Hyung!” Baekhyun appears around the corner, looking panicked. Behind him is the rest of their pack, each of them with proper worry etched on their faces – all except for Minseok, who seems disappointed. “What happened? Did you screw up? I swear hyung, if you hurt him -”

“Baek,” Minseok interrupts him. “Maybe now isn’t the time. Why don’t you talk to Jongdae? Chanyeol and Kyungsoo can stick around in case Jongdae wants all of you inside and I’ll talk with Junmyeon.”

Baekhyun is on board with the idea. He practically shoves Junmyeon out of the way and knocks softly on the door – they wait with bated breath until Jongdae opens it just a crack, sticks a hand out and pulls Baekhyun in. Chanyeol and Kyungsoo sit outside the door and stare at Junmyeon until he gets the hint and walks away, Minseok in tow.

His hyung keeps the promise of talking to him – although it feels more like a scolding with the Beta pacing up and down their shared room, hands on his hips and sighing exasperatedly every few sentences.

“You said you had no interest in him as a mate? That you two were just fucking?” he demands. Junmyeon hangs his head low and nods feebly. “You are so… so… ugh!”

So Junmyeon is very ugh, yeah, he knows. He feels pretty ugh too. A soft knock on the door disturbs whatever Minseok was going to say next, and Lu Han pokes his head in.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” he says quietly. Junmyeon had totally forgotten about them. “We wanted to let you know we’re going now.”

“What?” Junmyeon chokes. “No, no way. It’s too dangerous! You can stay here until we find the hunters, we’ve discussed this!”

“Junmyeon,” Lu Han sighs, stepping further inside the room. “You need the space right now. I know I have no say in it and I don’t want to upset you, but you and Jongdae could use some time – _you _could use some time away from Yixing. And besides, Yifan already updated the security in our penthouse, we’ll be fine.”__

__Unable to argue with him, Junmyeon accepts. He stands shoulder to shoulder with Minseok at the front door and watches Yifan’s pack drive away, feeling like he’s the worst alpha in the history of bad alphas. He allows himself to smile when Lu Han pokes his head out the passenger’s seat and waves at them._ _

__-_ _

__Three days later, after school, Yifan and Junmyeon head over to the Ambassador’s home. The house is located in the neutral area, nicely decorated in wood and white, but Junmyeon isn’t here to admire the décor._ _

__“Sit,” the old man says, pointing to the two chairs in front of his desk. The office has two large windows behind the desk that show a pretty view of the Han River and the setting sun. “I have three guards stationed outside the Wu pack’s building and three more in the Kim house. Plus, I have a few other men patrolling the school and the forest. However,” he pauses. “There might be too many hunters for us to handle, so I would advice you to stay vigilant, and under no circumstances let the omegas go out alone.”_ _

__Part of Junmyeon understands that often hunters target omegas because they are supposedly weaker than the rest – although, a few go after them because omegas are their only hope at reproduction, and that is why it is so important to protect them._ _

__But another part finds it so annoying that omegas are treated like delicate flowers when they’re clearly not. There is not an ounce of doubt in his mind that Baekhyun and Kyungsoo can stand their ground against the hunters._ _

___But Sehun can’t _, his inner self reminds him. A flash of Sehun, beaten up and hurt, crosses his mind, but he pushes it to the back of his head. Yifan seems to be thinking the same thing, considering the solemn look on his face.__ _ _

____“Thank you sir,” Junmyeon bows eyes casted down._ _ _ _

____“Did something happen between you two?” the Ambassador asks with raised eyebrows. He looks back and forth between the alphas with interest. “Before, you two could barely be in the same room – then you became friends and now you can’t look at each other. Was there a pack fight?”_ _ _ _

____“Not exactly,” Yifan murmurs. He’s still pissed, Junmyeon can tell, but he’s grown used to having people angry at him so it doesn’t affect him too much._ _ _ _

____The Ambassador watches them in silence; probably wondering if their little fall-out would affect his job, but dismisses them quickly after. Yifan doesn’t spare him a look as he climbs on his motorcycle and drives away._ _ _ _

____-_ _ _ _

____Junmyeon arrives home to the same scene for the past few days: Chanyeol and Kyungsoo on the couch, working on their homework. Chanyeol has his head on his hand and is looking disinterestedly between his textbook and Kyungsoo’s while the omega diligently fills out the questionnaire. Minseok is in the kitchen making coffee for two, he and Jongdae._ _ _ _

____And Jongdae is nowhere to be seen, but Junmyeon still knows where he is – in his room, with Baekhyun, mostly cursing the alpha to hell and back._ _ _ _

____He’s tried multiple times to talk to him but is always shut out, either by the beta himself or by one of his friends. At first, Junmyeon thought Kyungsoo was a safe bet to ask for a favour, but the omega had given him an unamused glare and stalked off without listening to him._ _ _ _

____Making a beeline for his own room, Junmyeon fishes his phone out of his pocket and pulls up his chat with Jongdae on Kakao. The beta is hopeless when it comes to technology and thankfully doesn’t know how to turn off the ‘read’ notification, so Junmyeon is certain he’s at least been reading his messages._ _ _ _

____And like he’s done these days, Junmyeon sends a string of apologies that sound empty even to him, but he doesn’t know what to do._ _ _ _

____He hadn’t meant what he said to Yifan that day, about not being interested in Jongdae – he is, very much, and every hour he goes without Jongdae cuddling up to him or whining to get his attention is an hour Junmyeon wants to erase off the face of the earth._ _ _ _

____What is that saying? You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone or whatever? Well, Junmyeon can relate to that, because he’s lost the best thing that’s happened to him and he doesn’t know how to fix it._ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pls leave a comment if you liked this >.<


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is one is a little rushed because I wanted to give you something before I go on a little hiatus for two weeks - i might be able to update soon, but since I'm not sure, I'm giving you this :)

Three weeks later and Junmyeon is still in the harsh end of the Cold War in his pack. 

Jongdae refuses to even be in the same room as him longer than strictly needed. Baekhyun never fails to give him the stink eye, and Chanyeol and Kyungsoo act like bodyguards to the beta, not allowing Junmyeon to get anywhere near him. Junmyeon has tried countless times to talk to Jongdae, but the three friends keep him away.

The only one in the house who still acts somewhat the same with him is Minseok, although Junmyeon does catch him making disapproving faces at him when Junmyeon tries to fix things with Jongdae, only to get a door slammed in his face.

Junmyeon is slowly losing his mind – not only does he miss Jongdae talking to him, laughing with or at him and burrowing closer to him when it’s cold, but he also misses the rest of his pack. He misses roughhousing with Chanyeol outside, he misses watching Kyungsoo cook and stealing bits of food here and there only to be slapped away and he misses watching movies with Baekhyun in their living room until the omega falls asleep on his shoulder.

It gets to the point where Junmyeon forgets everything about the hunters and the threat they pose to his family, too preoccupied with finding a solution to his despair. There is a nagging voice in his head, telling him he’s neglecting something important, but it isn’t until Yifan corners him in the locker room after P.E that he’s brought back to Earth.

“Have you not been reading the bulletins?” he asks roughly, shoving a stack of papers in his hands.

The wolf community, as Junmyeon calls it, has a sort of newspaper. Whenever there’s something important going on with a pack in South Korea, like a change of alpha or the combination of two packs, it is announced via email to everyone – nicely styled like a blog for everyone’s viewing pleasure. To be honest, Junmyeon’s been ignoring the messages for the past month, sending them to his spam folder without a thought but belatedly realizes that wasn’t the right thing to do when he looks down and reads the first headline, then the next and the one after that.

Six packs around the country have been slaughtered in the last two weeks, and the trail leads to Seoul. The different authors of the articles, after seeing the pattern, are encouraging the Seoul packs to leave the city and seek refugee somewhere else – some are even offering their homes until the situation is handled. 

“The Ambassador is freaking out,” Yifan whispers. “He may not say it but I can smell it on him. Sehun is terrified and refuses to go anywhere without us. We have to do something.”

“You’re right,” Junmyeon agrees. “Let’s meet tonight, at eight?”

“Your place?”

Junmyeon halts. His pack house is starting to feel more like a prison with every day that goes by.

“No,” he shakes his head. “Can it be at yours?”

“Sure thing. See you at eight.”

-

The Wu pack’s penthouse really has upgraded the security. It isn’t only because of the guards in the entrance of the building, but also the security cameras placed inside the elevator and state of the art alarm system.

Yifan leads him to his studio, waving at Zitao who’s sitting on the kitchen counter with a bowl of cereal in hand. The young beta waves back with a shy smile. Inside the office, Yifan sits on behind the desk with a sigh, looking tired.

“This,” he says, handing Junmyeon a piece of paper, “is a list of alphas I know that could help us.”

“You want to run?” Junmyeon asks. He skims the list but none of the names rings a bell with him. “I didn’t peg you for the coward kind.”

“I’m not running,” Yifan growls. “It’s for backup, not hide out. Those alphas are the kind who will come here to fight with us if we ask them to.”

Junmyeon takes another look at the list. He’s considered fighting the hunters, and the only downside he could find was that they were probably outnumbered. 

“Do you think your pack would be ok with this?” Junmyeon asks. “I mean, I could ask my wolves but they’re not exactly talking to me.”

“They’re still angry at you?” Yifan raises an eyebrow. “It’s been weeks.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Junmyeon grumbles. “The only one who’s kind of ok with me is Minseok, and only because he has to.”

“Well, I suggest you find a way to get their approval. In the meantime, let me tell you about these alphas.”

Yifan takes the list from his hands and points at the first name. “Kim Taeyeon has a pack of all girls. Three alphas, three betas and three omegas; they’re from Daegu. Lee Jinki has two alphas, two betas and one omega, from Gwangju. Kim Seokjin’s pack has three alphas, two betas and two omegas, from Daejeon. And finally, Park Jisoo’s pack from Mokpo has three alphas, three betas and three omegas.”

Junmyeon does the math. “That’s… thirty more wolves, right? Plus your six and my six, that makes forty-two. We should be fine in a fight.”

“Less,” Yifan shakes his head. “You’re counting the omegas.”

“And?”

“And the omegas don’t fight.”

Junmyeon bites back a comment, not in the mood to argue with Yifan right now. If Baekhyun or Kyungsoo were here, they’d probably bite Yifan’s head off. 

“I gotta go home,” Junmyeon says. He feels the beginning of a headache creeping up on him and he just wants to suffer alone. 

He runs into Yixing on his way out. The younger alpha is getting home, kicking his shoes off in the entrance. Junmyeon thinks he wanted to say something to him, but doesn’t give him the chance, slipping past him into the closing elevator and running away. The last thing he needs right now is to get home smelling like Yixing.

-

“Pack meeting!” Junmyeon hollers when he gets through the front door. 

Five minutes later and the only ones in the living room are Minseok and him. Junmyeon tries not to get too angry, but to know that his packmates are deliberately defying his leadership has his blood boiling.

Despite the protests from Minseok, Junmyeon goes upstairs where he knows the others are, taking two steps at a time and banging on the door to Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s room. There’s a hushed silence, as if they actually want to pretend like they aren’t inside.

“Open this door, now,” Junmyeon seethes. More silence. “I have something to discuss with everyone, and if you’re not downstairs in two minutes I am taking this decision by myself, regardless of what you want!”

With that, Junmyeon stomps back down. Minseok is right where he was before, sitting lazily on the recliner, his History textbook on his chest. 

“They’re not coming are they?” the beta asks. Junmyeon doesn’t dignify that with an answer.

Junmyeon calls Yifan to let him know they’re on board with his plan, but it goes straight to voicemail. Shrugging it off, he sends him a text instead and puts his phone away for the night, set on doing his math homework before passing out on his bed.

-

“Why is Junmyeon avoiding me?” Yixing demands. Yifan looks up from his desk, startled, but his expression quickly shifts to badly hidden guilt and Yixing fumes. “Oh my God Yifan. What did you tell him?”

“I did it for everyone’s sake!” Yifan defends himself. 

“What did you do?!”

“I…” Yifan falters. “I told him to stay away from you.”

Yixing gapes at him, at a loss for words. Yifan looks sheepish, so at least he’s got that going for him, but Yixing promptly decides he doesn’t care.

“Yifan, he’s my friend!” Yixing exclaims, throwing his hands up in the air. Lu Han pokes his head into the studio to see what all the commotion is about, but the angry look Yixing gives him is enough for him to run away. “What makes you think you have the right to do that?”

“I’m your alpha,” the older boy states, rising up from his seat. “And I decided that for your sake, as well as Junmyeon’s and everyone else who’s involved, that it’s best if you two keep your distance.”

Yixing scoffs, angry. He kind of knows he shouldn’t be talking like this to his alpha, but he’s so pissed. “Everyone else? Junmyeon and I were having fun! I liked having another alpha to talk to that didn’t try to remind me everyday that he’s my boss.”

Yifan shuts his mouth, but his lips are thinned, like he’s trying to hold back. “Just, stay out of my business Yifan,” Yixing sighs, leaving him alone.

In his room, Sehun is taking up the better part of his bed, playing with his phone. Yixing smiles softly, shutting the door behind him and scooting in where he can. 

“What are you doing?” he asks the omega. Sehun shows him the screen where he’s playing Farm Hero. “Can’t sleep, huh?”

Sehun nods, blocking the phone. He wriggles around until he’s got his head under Yixing’s chin, arms thrown over the alpha’s waist. “Hyung, I know why Yifan hyung told Junmyeon that.”

“Really?” Yixing hums. “Care to share it with me?”

“Jongdae hyung is in love with Junmyeon hyung,” Sehun tells him. “And everyone could see it was hurting him to see Junmyeon hyung with you.”

“Oh,” Yixing says quietly. “I didn’t realize that. I feel like a fool,” he chuckles.

“It’s not your fault,” Sehun reassures him. “You were just happy to make a friend. Now hush, I’m tired.”

“Of course. Good night Sehun.”

-

Chanyeol watches Baekhyun pace up and down their shared room, rambling on and on about the whole Jongdae/Junmyeon fiasco. Now, it isn’t like he doesn’t care – he does, Jongdae is one of his best friends – but maybe Baekhyun is taking things a little too far, a little too personal.

Of course, Chanyeol doesn’t plan on saying that to the omega in this lifetime, since he appreciates all his limbs. However, it’s getting harder and harder to pretend like he’s as pissed as he was three weeks ago when all he wants to do is either get some or go to sleep.

“Baek,” he says tiredly. “It’s late, why don’t you come to bed?”

Baekhyun pouts, shuffling over to him. Chanyeol welcomes him with his arms open and lets him slump over him with a sigh. They stay put for minutes, the omega playing with the edge of Chanyeol’s sleeping shirt distractedly. 

Chanyeol is taken off guard when Baekhyun surges forward all of a sudden and captures his lips with his. The kiss is soft and slow, much like they usually are at this time of the day. Baekhyun presses closer, circling Chanyeol’s neck with his arms and lets the alpha grab hold of his bottom with his hands.

If he’s being perfectly honest, there’s nothing better than a pliant Baekhyun, according to Chanyeol. The alpha shifts around until they’re lying on the bed and Baekhyun is underneath him, slim hands slipping under Chanyeol’s shirt and running over his toned stomach.

“Any chance,” Chanyeol whispers between kisses, “You’re up for some fun?”

Baekhyun giggles against his lips, nodding cutely and letting Chanyeol undress him. Chanyeol likes to see him naked, thinks it’s the best look for him and likes it even more because he’s the only one who gets to see it.

“Get rid of these,” Baekhyun demands softly, tugging at Chanyeol’s clothes. 

They’re too tired to do anything more than hump against each other, but they do it with purpose. Chanyeol makes sure to suck marks into the skin of Baekhyun’s chest, since he can’t do it anywhere else, and run his extended fangs over the omega’s neck to tease him.

When Baekhyun cums, he does so with a breathy moan of Chanyeol’s name and digging his fingernails into his back. Chanyeol follows with a grunt, pressing Baekhyun down into the sheets and kissing him deeply.

Chanyeol cleans them both up with a towel he fetches from the bathroom, Baekhyun furrowing into the blankets once he’s clear and Chanyeol has slipped pajama pants on him. Satisfied and even more exhausted than he was before, Chanyeol barely has time to put on clothes too before he’s falling asleep with him, their limbs tangled together.

-

“What are you doing still up?”

Minseok whirls around. Kyungsoo is standing in the kitchen entrance, tiredly rubbing his eyes. His sweater is too big for him and the the sleeves fall over his fingertips, giving him sweater paws. Minseok resists the urge to coo.

“I couldn’t sleep well,” Minseok shrugs. He places the water jug back into the fridge and takes a seat on the island, inviting Kyungsoo to do the same. “You?”

Kyungsoo hesitates momentarily but eventually sits next to him. “Jongdae is crying again,” he confesses quietly. “He asked me to leave him alone. I didn’t want to but you know how he gets, so…”

“Yeah,” Minseok nods. His heart aches when he hears Jongdae is crying all alone in his room and wants to go up to him and hold him, but the beta doesn’t like to show weakness to anyone.

“I want to punch Junmyeon hyung in the face,” Kyungsoo grumbles. He’s playing with his hands on his lap, looking down. Minseok watches him fidget while thinking.

“I want to punch him too,” he agrees. “But I also know he didn’t mean it.”

The omega scoffs. “We all know that – except for Jongdae, apparently.”

“He screwed up,” Minseok sighs. “And now he doesn’t know how to fix it. I wish I could help him.”

“You could tell him that Jongdae still needs some time alone,” Kyungsoo suggests. “And that he should try to do small things from now on, for a start. And that he should get his head out of his ass and see what he has before he loses it.”

Minseok laughs. Kyungsoo is right, those are all great advices. Knowing their alpha, he’s probably sulking on his bed, pout and all as he tries to figure out what to do. 

“Thanks Soo,” Minseok tells him. “I’ll let him know.”

Kyungsoo nods and gets up to leave, but before he exits the kitchen he turns back around and lands a peck on Minseok’s lips before running away. Minseok sits there, shocked, and brings a hand up to touch his mouth, which has gone all tingly.

Junmyeon asks him what’s wrong when he sees the blush on his face and his bulging eyes – Minseok can only mumble something and collapse on his bed, still on cloud nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave a comment to let me know if you want to dropkick junmyeon in the face


	8. 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is for my wifey Amanda~ I hope you like this! 
> 
> Sorry for the late update, but at least I'm back?

Junmyeon receives the phone numbers of the alphas he and Yifan discussed early in the morning. He blinks tiredly at the block of text and numbers, too tired to fully comprehend their meaning until a few minutes later. 

Groaning, he gets out of bed and pats around with his feet for the slippers that seem to have gone missing during the night. Minseok snorts awake when the alarm goes off, but promptly falls asleep again soon after.

By some miracle of divine grace, Junmyeon runs into Chanyeol the next morning and the taller boy, instead of ignoring or glaring at him, actually says “Good morning,” before walking past him to the kitchen. It’s not much, but it still counts as progress in Junmyeon’s mind.

“So are you doing it?” Minseok asks him on their way to school. Since the other four are still in Avoid Junmyeon Mode, regardless of their greetings, the two of them are alone in Minseok’s car. 

“Yes,” Junmyeon says. “Yifan and I are making the calls today during lunch.”

“Do you trust them?”

“I don’t know, but Yifan does.”

Minseok nods, leaning his head on the window and staring out the window. The radio plays on in the background, bubbly girl group songs as requested by the audience. Junmyeon hums along to a few, Minseok tapping his foot to the rhythm and it feels familiar. This is how they usually are, although they usually have four more kids in the car singing purposely off-key and head banging to AOA and Laboum. 

Junmyeon tries a few more times to talk to Jongdae during the school day, but the only moment he gets acknowledge is when their P.E lessons get combined and the two are put in the same team for dodgeball.

The conversation was mostly one-sided, but Jongdae at least cracked a smile when Junmyeon made some lousy joke that was terrible even to him. Junmyeon totally did not do a happy dance in his head.

Needless to say, Junmyeon was on cloud nine for the rest of the day.

-

“Here are the numbers,” Yifan dumps crumpled pieces of paper on the desk. Junmyeon looks up from his Chemistry textbook and stares at the other alpha. The students around them are all either playing on their phones or working on homework they didn’t do the night before to put the free period to good use.

“We’re calling them now?” Junmyeon asks, glancing from one side to the other. Their classmates might not pay much attention to school, but they are deceivingly sharp when it comes to other people’s business. “What if someone overhears?”

“They won’t,” Yifan reassures him. He pulls a chair from the empty desk behind him and sits down on it, grabbing two papers and reaching for his phone. Junmyeon does the same, checking the name on the first number before calling.

“Hello?”

“Park Jisoo?” Junmyeon asks.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“It’s Kim Junmyeon, one of the alphas in Seoul,” he introduces himself, fiddling with the paper in his hands. “Wu Yifan gave me your number – I have a favour to ask.”

-

“Lee Jinki can’t make it,” Yifan informs him. “His omega is pregnant and they don’t want to risk it.”

“Kim Taeyeon says she’ll do it, but she can’t be here until next week. Park Jisoo will get here as soon as possible.”

“Kim Seokjin agreed and assured me he’ll have his boys here by tomorrow or the day after that.”

“We’re lucky, then.”

“Yeah.”

“Yifan?”

“What is it?”

“My omegas will want to fight, and I hope you let yours do it too.”

-

Junmyeon and Minseok go on full cleaning duty that evening, tidying up their house to receive the guests. After some discussions, he and Yifan decided to have the female packs stay with Junmyeon while the male pack stays with Yifan. 

“What’s going on?” Baekhyun asks slowly. There’s a lollipop hanging from his mouth, Chanyeol’s hand on his neck while they watch a movie in the living room where Junmyeon is trying to swipe the floor.

“We have guests coming,” Junmyeon answers, staring at them hard until they get the hind and raise their feet so he can mop the floor underneath them. 

“Yixing and his pack?” Baekhyun snaps. Chanyeol is shifting uncomfortably on his spot, his hand dropping from Baekhyun’s neck to tangle their fingers together in a silent request to shut it. 

Junmyeon takes a deep, calming breath before replying. “No. Two packs are coming to Seoul to help us against the hunters. Yifan will be playing host to another one from Daejeon.”

“Since when?” Baekhyun asks.

“Since I said so.”

Baekhyun splutters, sitting up and giving Junmyeon a disbelieving look. “Without asking us? What happened to the whole ‘I won’t do anything you don’t want’ bullshit?”

“That,” Junmyeon says lowly, his patience wearing thin, “flew out the window the moment you four decided to act like children and ignore my orders. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to clean out the den.”

He leaves them like that, Baekhyun gaping at him and Chanyeol trying to become one with the couch cushions. The den doesn’t need much done, mostly some dusting off and to place the sleeping mats in a way they weren’t squished together but still fit into the somewhat tight space.

Jisoo had told him not to worry about anything that her wolves were more than happy to sleep in their wolf forms, but Junmyeon would cut his leg off before letting his guests be uncomfortable. Taeyeon had called earlier to tell him she’s bringing their own camping equipment to stay in the backyard, despite the numerous protests Junmyeon sputtered into the phone.

Kyungsoo gives him odd looks over dinner when Junmyeon keeps checking and rechecking the pantry, the refrigerator and the shelves to make sure they’re filled with food, but doesn’t comment on it. 

Finally, around ten pm, a car pulls up on the drive way. Junmyeon is there to open the door, Minseok standing pacifically by his side. Baekhyun gives him one nasty look and runs up the stairs to his room, but to everyone’s surprise, Chanyeol doesn’t go after him. Even Jongdae stays downstairs, although he snuggles up to Kyungsoo on the couch and watches with mild interest as Junmyeon frets.

When he opens the door, he’s greeted with big brown eyes and a horde of girls. One of them looks like she’s asleep while leaning on her companion, but most of them offer him tiny, tired smiles when he introduces himself.

“I’m Jisoo,” big brown eyes sighs, shaking his hand with a firm grip despite her obvious exhaustion. “Sorry we’re so late; we came through the woods to avoid any problems and sort of… got lost.”

“That’s alright,” Junmyeon reassures her, opening the door wider to let them in. “It’s good we finally meet. This is Minseok, my beta. These are Kyungsoo, Jongdae and Chanyeol – our other omega, Baekhyun, wasn’t feeling very well and he’s already retired to his room. I’m sure you’ll meet him tomorrow.”

After exchanging quick greetings and pleasantries, Junmyeon takes his pack upstairs to let their guests settle in and get some rest. Baekhyun, unsurprisingly, doesn’t let Chanyeol into their shared room and the alpha has to bunk with Jongdae and Kyungsoo – the beta agrees to share a bed with him as long as he gets cuddles out of it. When Junmyeon hears about his Jongdae sleeping with another alpha, he has to hold back from either chopping said alpha in the throat or hiding Jongdae in a cave where only he can touch him.

Alas, he can’t do that, because there are strangers in the house and it isn’t socially acceptable to kidnap people, even if said people are his and his alone.

-

The next morning, a beautifully sunny Saturday, Baekhyun decides to act like the dick he very much isn’t. Barely sparing a glance at the newcomers, he grabs a plate from the kitchen counter and rushes off to his room, slamming the door shut. Chanyeol apologizes in his behalf, offering a half-assed excuse about heats and the full moon that no one buys.

But thankfully none of them seems too affected, and the rest of his boys make lively conversation with all of them, so Junmyeon is a proud alpha. 

The three omegas in Jisoo’s pack – Sana, Jeongyeon and Tzuyu – offer to wash the dishes for them, but Kyungsoo is anything if not a good host, and so the four are locked in a very intense match to out-polite each other, the rest of the wolves watching on in amusement. 

Kim Taeyeon and her pack arrive a little after noon, their van making an odd sound when they park and the engine probably dying out on them before they intended. The girl who was driving stares at the wheel in silence for a moment before saying, “Well damn.”

Junmyeon gets the driver’s door for her and she flashes a smile in his direction before her head slams forward and she releases a whine. “Goddammit Juhyun what the hell?”

“Sorry!” a voice speaks from behind her. “I couldn’t get my backpack out.”

“Are you alright?” Junmyeon asks with a frown, helping her out of the van – it’s pretty muddy due to the rain last night and he guides her to safety. 

“Yeah, just a mild concussion,” she grumbles, rubbing the sore spot with a pout. “I’m Sooyoung, by the way. The tiny one over there is our alpha Taeyeon and I know she wants to talk to you.”

“I’m not tiny, Sooyoung,” the other girl mutters.

“Sure you’re not.”

Taeyeon rolls her eyes and sticks a hand out to shake with Junmyeon; her grip is stronger than her height would suggest. The other wolves in her pack slowly trickle out of their van, Junmyeon’s boys helping them unload and leading them through the house to get to the backyard. 

Yifan calls to let him know that his and Kim Seokjin’s pack will be swinging by later to talk and figure out a plan. Junmyeon is worried because that means Yixing will be coming over and he doesn’t have the energy to deal with what it means, but he doesn’t want to be rude either. 

He should have known, however, that Baekhyun wouldn’t be happy with just sulking in his room. Oh no, the omega went the full nine yards on his tantrum, scowling at their guests and ignoring everyone when they tried to talk to him – Sana had tears in her eyes after he snapped at her and her mate Momo looked ready to karate chop him to the grave. 

Things get worse when Yifan arrives. Yixing tries to say hello but Baekhyun scoffs in his face and leaves the house, not even sparing Chanyeol a glance when the alpha goes to stop him. Yixing looks like he’s been slapped across the face, but he covers it up pretty quickly by helping Kyungsoo set the trays of coffee he’s prepared on the low table. 

“Excuse me,” Jongdae mutters, chasing after Baekhyun. The two disappear into the forest and, honestly, Junmyeon is too tired to care. 

“Should we introduce ourselves?” Junmyeon suggest meekly. There’s a rumour of consent around the room. “Ok, well, my name is Kim Junmyeon and I’m an alpha.”

He looks to his right, where Minseok is sipping on his bitter bean juice. “Kim Minseok, a beta.”

The rest of his pack introduces themselves, then Yifan’s, and then it’s the guests turn.

“Hello, I’m Kim Taeyeon and this is my pack. I’m the head alpha.”

“I’m Jessica Jung, a beta.”

“Lee Soonkyu, omega.”

“Kim Hyoyeon, alpha.”

“Stephanie Hwang, omega.”

“Kwon Yuri, beta.”

“Choi Sooyoung, beta.”

“Im Yoona, alpha.”

“Seo Juhyun, omega.”

There’s a lull of silence where everyone stares at Jisoo expectantly, but she doesn’t notice because her attention is fixed on her scone. Jeongyeon elbows her subtly on the ribs and Jisoo is so startled she nearly drops her treat, but recovers quickly and bows in apology.

“Sorry, I was… distracted. My name is Park Jisoo and I’m the head alpha of my pack.”

“Hello, I’m Im Nayeon, a beta.”

“Yoon Jeongyeon, omega.”

“Hirai Momo, beta.”

“Minatozaki Sana, omega, nice to meet you!” Junmyeon swoons a little at her cute voice and a look around the room proves everyone feels the same.

“Myoui Mina, alpha.”

“Kim Dahyun, alpha.”

“Son Chaeyoung, beta.”

“Zhou Tzuyu, omega.”

It’s finally Seokjin’s turn. The blond alpha gulps down what’s left of his coffee and laces his fingers together. 

“I’m Kim Seokjin, head alpha of my pack.”

“Min Yoongi, alpha.”

“Jung Hoseok, beta!”

“Kim Namjoon, beta.”

“Park Jimin, omega.”

“Kim Taehyung, alpha.”

“Jung Jungkook, omega.”

Once everyone’s done muttering ‘lovely to meet you’ and ‘let’s work together well’, they stay in a semi-awkward silence that’s interrupted by the sliding doors opening to reveal Jongdae, a little winded and a streak of mud on his left cheek.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” he says shyly. “But I’m here to apologize in behalf of Baekhyun. He’s being an ass for no reason and I know he feels sorry but is too stubborn to admit it so… I hope you don’t take it to heart.”

Despite talking to everyone, Junmyeon has a feeling he’s aiming the apology to him in specific, especially with the way his eyes keep flicking over to the alpha every once in a while. 

“It’s alright Jongdae,” Junmyeon says, and it really is. “Please tell Baekhyun to come back so we can talk.”

Baekhyun looks like he would like nothing more than for the ground to open up and swallow him whole. He bows aggressively when he makes it to the door until Sehun forces him upright, and then goes over to Sana with his metaphorical tail between his legs and whispers how sorry he is he talked to her that way – and Sana, in her eternal cuteness, smiles and tells him not to sweat it.

“The heads are going to have a conversation,” Yifan says pointedly to Zitao, who seems to be very interested in getting to know Jisoo – despite the glares her mate Tzuyu keeps sending them. “Why don’t you guys go outside and play for a while?”

With everyone gone, Jisoo finally allows herself to giggle, watching the way Tzuyu keeps shooting him dirty looks, much to his obliviousness. “Isn’t she cute when she’s jealous?”

“She’s terrifying,” Yifan supplies. Jisoo smiles even wider.

“So what did you want to talk about?” Seokjin asks. He keeps darting his eyes to the backyard, seemingly looking for his mate. 

“Junmyeon and I obviously disagree on this matter and I wanted to discuss it with you,” Yifan says. “The omegas – should we let them fight or not? I say no, Junmyeon says yes.”

“Of course.”

“Of course not.”

“Depends.”

The three alphas stare at each other in shock. Taeyeon sits down on the recliner, legs crossed like she’s waiting for the tea to spill. Junmyeon is honestly a little scared that they’ll fight, considering the outraged look on Jisoo’s face.

“What do you mean, ‘of course not’?” she demands.

“What do you mean, ‘of course’?” Seokjin shoots back. “They’re omegas – they don’t fight.”

“Says who?” Jisoo asks. “My omegas are more than capable of taking care of themselves.”

“Because that’s just the way it is. Alphas fight, betas protect and omegas breed.”

Taeyeon’s eyebrows shoot up to her hairline at the statement. Jisoo crosses her arms under her breasts, lips pursed and her jaw locking in place. “Are you serious right now? That is so archaic!”

“It isn’t archaic, it’s tradition,” Seokjin defends himself. 

“And yet you mated with another alpha,” Taeyeon points out, her eyes flickering to where Yoongi can be seen playing with Jimin. Most of the wolves have disappeared into the forest, while the few ones still lingering around are either lounging on the grass or chatting among themselves. 

“That’s different.”

“How?” Jisoo snaps. “Because you’re alphas it’s ok to do what you want but omegas can’t?”

Seokjin growls, obviously not delighted by her tone, but before they can get physical Stephanie bursts in, her eyes wide. 

“The alphas are fighting!” she tells them – she looks like she’d never run faster in her life. “And the betas are useless, just cheering them on!”

Taeyeon is up on her feet in an instant, pulling her mate inside the house and telling her to stay put before taking off towards the sound of brawling which can now be heard loud and clear. Junmyeon is hot on her heels and they burst into a clearing to find most of the alphas wolfed out, a few still in their human forms even if their fangs are out. The betas are screaming wildly from the side-lines and placing bets like it’s some sort of game, while the omegas are in a state of mild arousal and fear. Junmyeon knows, because he can smell them. 

When Chanyeol’s wolf tackles someone else to the ground and growls in their face, low and guttural and absolutely terrifying, Baekhyun releases such a sweet batch of hormones into the air Chanyeol actually pulls away to stare at him, a deeper growl rumbling in his chest. Unfortunately, the wolf underneath him uses the distraction to lunge forward and nearly tears his throat out.

“Hyoyeon!” Taeyeon yells. That must be the wolf fighting with Chanyeol. 

They do their best to break out the fights, even if they get growled and snapped at more than once. Chanyeol has Baekhyun under his arm, obviously non-affected by being naked in front of so many people – in fact, the only ones who stay in their wolf forms are the girls. 

Each alpha takes care to scold their pack. Junmyeon is absolutely livid, but especially disappointed in his betas for not stopping the fight. Minseok and Jongdae looked like they were too excited; cheering Chanyeol on everytime he took on a different wolf. Baekhyun isn’t one he can scold because Junmyeon knows the omega is weak for Chanyeol getting rough with others or him, but he still tries to give him a good talking-to. And finally he looks at Chanyeol for a long time until the taller boy hangs his head in defeat and apologizes.

-

“Where do we stand on the omegas thing though?” Taeyeon asks that night. Everyone’s retired to bed and now the head alphas are gathered in the small studio in the house. 

“You said it depends,” Seokjin recalls. “What did you mean?”

“It depends on what they want,” she says. “If my omegas wish to fight, I won’t stop them. But if they’re injured or I feel like they aren’t ready, I will lock them in the van and throw the keys in a volcano.”

“I still don’t want my omegas to fight,” Seokjin says slowly. “But I have a feeling they’ll want to and I’m not sure I can say no to them.”

“My omegas are in,” Jisoo declares, Junmyeon nodding his agreement. They all look at Yifan, who seems lost in thought.

“My only omega is Sehun,” he starts. “And he’s already been injured before. He’s terrified of hunters and I’ve never even let him go hunting with us, for fuck’s sake. I don’t know if I’ll ever be comfortable with the idea of him going up against the same people who hurt him… but I can’t deny him of anything, which can be proven by taking a look at his closet or his video games. So yes, if Sehun wishes to fight, I will let him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uuuh leave a comment if you think sana is the cutest thing out there


	9. 9

Three days after the alpha showdown, Junmyeon is about to leave for school when the Ambassador shows up in his doorstep. It’s a grey day, dark clouds swirling in the sky and threatening to open up at the worst possible time.

The old man has a grim look on his face when he enters the house. Their guests are reunited in the living room, trying to come up with a plan that will entertain them during the day, but they perk up when the Ambassador walks in. 

“Junmyeon-ssi,” he says sternly, his eyes sweeping over the room. “Please explain.”

“Well,” Junmyeon starts, rising to his full height. “They are here for backup. Hunters have been making their way to Seoul for weeks now and witnesses claim they outnumber us – by a lot. We called these packs because they don’t want more wolves to die and we need all the help we can get.”

“Did it ever occur to you that you might have to ask permission from me before inviting strangers over to our city?” the Ambassador demands. “Send them home, now.”

The man is gone before anyone can react. Junmyeon takes a deep breath to calm down and sends their guests a weak smile, grabbing his backpack and going to the garage where Minseok is waiting for him. His beta seems to have overheard the exchange, patting Junmyeon’s back and offering to drive them to school this time.

Junmyeon is distracted all day long. Most of their teachers ignore him, but their History professor does ask him if there’s something wrong. Junmyeon has to assure the old man multiple times that everything’s alright, he just has a mild headache. It’s not like it’s a lie, either; his brain has been flinging itself from side to side in his skull for hours now.

When he tells Yifan what the Ambassador said, the tall alpha merely shrugs and says, “Fuck him. He doesn’t care about us, why should we care about him?”

“But the security?” Junmyeon frets. Lunch period is about to end, but food is the furthest thing in his mind. He moves his rice around with his chopsticks, mixing it with the vegetables but not making a move to eat any of it. “We shouldn’t anger him if it’s going to come back to bite us in the ass later on.”

“Junmyeon,” Yifan says. “What good has his security been? We’re supposed to be safe all the time, and yet Sehun was attacked months ago. Just because the bodyguards are visible now, doesn’t mean they’re useful.”

“I guess you’re right,” Junmyeon sighs, stabbing at his steak. They’re joined by Jongin and Sehun, the two arguing over one thing or another as they take a seat. Sehun keeps rolling his eyes at him, Jongin not paying much attention as he continues to chatter away.

Junmyeon expected Jongin to be uncomfortable around him, all things considered, but to his surprise – and relief – the beta sends a friendly smile his way and even sits right next to him. Yifan seems as surprised as Junmyeon, although their new companions don’t seem to notice.

The bell rings just as Junmyeon throws his used napkins away. Sehun is still rolling his eyes exasperatedly at Jongin, Yifan giving his input every once in a while and Jongin trying desperately to convince his friend that his plan is bulletproof, thank you very much.

“The plan might be, but you’re not,” Sehun hisses just as he gets up and leaves the cafeteria, Jongin hot on his heels.

-

Their shared room is an absolute mess, Baekhyun thinks. No matter where he looks, he finds discarded t-shirts, dirty socks and empty wrappers. Hands on his hips, the omega huffs and stalks out the door, intent on finding his tall idiot of a roommate/best friend/fuck buddy.

“Has anyone seen Chanyeol?” he asks no one in particular once he reaches the living room. Mina points to the backyard without lifting her eyes off her laptop screen, assumingly playing a game. Baekhyun played LoL with her the night before and makes a mental note to ask to play together again later. 

After he’s made Chanyeol clean up, of course.

He makes his way through the living room, stepping over Yoona and Juhyun who seem to be fighting over one thing or another while lying on their backs, Chaeyoung and Dahyun watching something on their iPad and Yuri taking a nap on the couch.

Just like Mina said, Chanyeol is outside, playing around in wolf form with Jongdae and Kyungsoo. Baekhyun would be endeared, especially when the omega tackles him to the ground and Jongdae presses his muzzle to Chanyeol’s belly. But then he remembers the ant colony in their room, and it isn't hard to bring an end to the playful fight.

“Chanyeol,” he calls pointedly. The black wolf looks up from where he’s playing dead on the ground, tongue lolling out of his mouth at the sound of his name. “We need to talk. Get dressed and come upstairs.”

Five minutes later Chanyeol enters their bedroom, sweaty and covered in mud and reeking like he hasn’t showered in days. Baekhyun wrinkles his nose, ducking out of reach when Chanyeol makes to kiss him. The alpha pouts, sad, and Baekhyun wonders what the other alphas would do if they saw him right now. They’re all nice, but they’re also very set on tradition and would probably think of Chanyeol as a joke.

“We need to clean,” Baekhyun announces. Chanyeol stares at him, wondering what he means, and Baekhyun points around them to the disaster zone that’s their room. “Look at this! We can’t live in this pigsty.”

“But-!” Chanyeol goes to protest, but one well placed glare has him nodding in consent. 

“You should shower first, though,” Baekhyun says in consideration. The alpha takes one sniff at his shirt and grimaces, grabbing random items of clothing from their closet and bounding out of their room.

When he returns, hair wet and smelling of his – their, Baekhyun thinks giddily – shampoo, the omega has to remind himself multiple times that they have to clean and that they’ll never get anything done if he jumps his alpha’s bones.

“I think my heat is coming up,” Baekhyun muses a while later. He’s throwing the dirty clothes in the hamper, finding more and more the further he looks. God, how do they even find clean clothes to wear?

“Why’s that?” Chanyeol manages to grunt, stuck halfway under his bed.

Baekhyun shrugs, even if Chanyeol can’t see him. “I keep getting aroused when you’re around. And just this morning, I woke up in a sweat. My heart has been beating faster than normal, too,” he ticks off the symptoms with his fingers, getting progressively more convinced that he truly is about to go into heat.

“We should tell Junmyeon hyung then,” Chanyeol says when he finally wiggles out from under the bed, holding take out boxes. “So he can prepare the basement. Also when did we have Chinese?”

“I have no idea,” Baekhyun laughs, wrinkling his nose in disgust. “And, are you saying you won’t be helping me through my heat?”

His voice gets progressively smaller until it’s barely above a whisper. He can’t help it though; Chanyeol has been with him during his heats since they first started two years ago. But the basement is a solution for when an omega is in heat or an alpha is in a rut and doesn’t want anyone around. It locks from the inside and is equipped to hold someone for up to an entire week without issues. It means that if Chanyeol is suggesting it, he probably doesn’t want to be with him. Baekhyun’s heart sinks at just the thought.

“Of course I am,” Chanyeol widens his eyes. “I just mean that with all these people in the house, we could use the privacy of the basement.”

Well doesn’t Baekhyun feel silly now. He hides his blush, turning around to throw the trash in a large black bag to deposit in the driveway for the garbage truck to take away. Chanyeol pulls him into a hug though, pressing a kiss to his nape and cooing about how cute his Baekhyunnie is.

Baekhyun pulls away from the embrace with a scowl. Chanyeol barks out a laugh and does as he’s told when Baekhyun tells him to take the hamper and start the washing machine.

-

This isn't what Jongdae expected when Minseok asked to meet him in the garage. Yixing is standing awkwardly between two cars, wringing his hands together, hair ruffled from the wind of the storm brewing outside. He gives Jongdae a pleading look before the beta can even work up the courage to say something, begging for just a few minutes of his time.

“Come on,” Jongdae says, grabbing his coat from the rack and throwing a random jacket Yixing’s way. They walk out of the garage and into the forest in silence.

The woods around their house have always been one of Jongdae’s favourite places. It’s so easy to get lost in there, especially in the winter, but Jongdae has never feared so. There are many people, humans, who go hiking or camping and end up calling the authorities because they can’t find their way back – or because they witnessed a pack of wolves running around, even if they mysteriously disappear before Animal Control can find them.

But this time Jongdae can’t find comfort in the forest. Not with Yixing trailing behind him in silence, kicking at rocks and making Jongdae unbelievably uncomfortable.

They finally reach Jongdae’s destination, a pretty stream where his pack likes to play around. The alpha sits a few feet away from Jongdae, looking out to the brook as he works up the courage to say what he has in mind.

“What is it, Yixing?” Jongdae sighs. 

“You need to know,” Yixing stresses. “That there is nothing going on between me and Junmyeon. No, seriously,” he insists when Jongdae scoffs. “I realize we got a little too comfortable around each other, but I promise it was never my intention to upset you. I guess I just got excited to have an alpha friend to see we were hurting you.

“I hope you can forgive me. Sehun pointed out to me that you and Junmyeon had a thing going on and I was getting in the way.”

“Yixing,” Jongdae says. “You didn’t know about Junmyeon and me. I don’t hate you, if that’s what you’re worried about. I just have a hard time looking at you without thinking of Junmyeon telling Yifan he has no interest in me as a mate.”

Yixing gasps, obviously not knowing about that bit of the story. “He said that? Jongdae, no, you know that’s not true, right?”

Jongdae shrugs, gaze trained on a bunny hopping around the clear. 

“Jongdae,” Yixing says softly. “You know what Junmyeon’s favourite thing to talk about is? You. Not a day went by without him telling me about you, what you said or did that morning. He’s absolutely smitten by you. And I don’t know why he said those things to Yifan, but I know they aren’t true.”

“Everyone seems to think the same,” Jongdae mumbles. “And it isn’t your fault that my alpha is a blind asshole that can’t see anything beyond his stupid nose. Please stop looking so sad.”

Yixing chuckles, the worry in his face fading a little. Jongdae allows himself to smile and scoot closer to him, bumping their shoulders together. “We can be friends, if you want.”

The smile he receives is blinding, but it disappears quickly to make way for a serious expression. “Jongdae, I’m going to promise you right here that nothing will happen between me and Junmyeon. The two of you clearly belong together, that much is obvious to anyone with eyes.”

“Junmyeon doesn’t see it,” Jongdae mumbles dejectedly. 

“Well, like you said, he can’t see anything beyond his nose.”

“His _stupid _nose,” Jongdae corrects.__

__Yixing chuckles. “Right, his stupid nose.”_ _

__After some minutes of sitting together in comfortable silence, the first drop of rain falls. Jongdae looks up, confused, just in time for the storm to pick up again. In seconds they’re completely soaked to the bone, and they race each other back to the house, laughing the entire way there._ _

__-_ _

__“I hope you two made the right decision,” the Ambassador says as greeting. He has his eyes trained on a stack of paperwork, as usual, signing away at some and throwing others on the trash bin._ _

__“We did,” Junmyeon confirms, sharing a look with Yifan._ _

__“Is that so? Should I have a police escort ready to send your friends home?”_ _

__“No,” Yifan says. “They’re staying. We decided we will be using their help.”_ _

__In all their years of working with him, Junmyeon is sure the Ambassador has never looked quiet so angry. There’s a vein on the left side of his forehead that starts to pulse as he stares at the two alphas sitting in his office. Junmyeon tries not to show it physically, but he’s actually a little terrified._ _

__“Get out,” the Ambassador seethes._ _

__They don’t need to be told twice. And if they race each other out of the house, no one sees them._ _

__-_ _

__“How’d it go?”_ _

__“I’m pretty sure we can kiss our paid vacations goodbye.”_ _

__“Goddammit Junmyeon I told you to be sensitive about it!”_ _

__“And I was! … I think.”_ _

__“You think?”_ _

__“And here I was, dreaming about going to Thailand.”_ _

__“You always want to go to Thailand.”_ _

__“And I won’t stop insisting until we do!”_ _

__“Get over it Baekhyun, the Ambassador is too cheap. The furthest he’s sending us is Osaka, _maybe _.”___ _

____“Whatever, this is all Junmyeon hyung’s fault anyway.”_ _ _ _

____“I was doing the right thing!”_ _ _ _

____“Did the right thing have to include keeping us in this house for the entire summer?”_ _ _ _

____“What’s going on?”_ _ _ _

____“Junmyeon pissed off the Ambassador.”_ _ _ _

____“…Oh. And is that bad?”_ _ _ _

____“Normally, no, I’ve never liked the old geezer, but he’s the one who pays for our trips and now we’ll have to stay here and watch reruns of stupid TV shows instead of going somewhere interesting.”_ _ _ _

____“Why is the Ambassador mad?”_ _ _ _

____“I told him I wouldn’t send you guys home because we need your help.”_ _ _ _

____“He’s never been a fan of wolves. He only puts up with us because the government and the elders pay him quite well.”_ _ _ _

____“He seemed scary when he came by.”_ _ _ _

____“Unnie, you’re scared of your own shadow.”_ _ _ _

____“That’s not true! Babe, tell her that’s not true.”_ _ _ _

____“That’s not true.”_ _ _ _

____“Sure it isn’t. Anyway, what are you going to do?”_ _ _ _

____“Probably learn the opening theme to every variety show.”_ _ _ _

____“That’s really not what I meant - don’t you need the Ambassador to be happy with you?”_ _ _ _

____“We can take care of ourselves. And besides, the elders left us enough money to get by before they left.”_ _ _ _

____“Too bad it isn’t enough to _send us to Tokyo like we discussed, Junmyeon _.”___ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah idk what's up with the ending either
> 
> so i have two (2) possible outcomes for this fic and i started to wonder - what do /you/ think it's going to happen? let me know in the comments if you got the foreshadowing in this chapter plus your thoughts on what will happen next!
> 
> thank you for reading~


	10. 10

“Well, it’s official,” Minseok sighs, sliding his phone back in his pocket. “We’re on our own now.”

Kyungsoo offers him a cup of coffee, taking a seat on the kitchen counter next to him. Taeyeon turns off the stove and wipes her hands on the apron tied around her waist, sliding a plate their way before sitting down. “What do you mean?”

“Lu Han says the bodyguards outside their building are gone and that the officers patrolling their area haven’t been around in days.”

“We don’t have any security around either,” Kyungsoo adds. “The men guarding our territory disappeared after Junmyeon hyung told the Ambassador you guys aren’t going anywhere.”

“Sorry,” she frowns, cradling a cup of tea in her hands. “But don’t worry, we got your back.”

“Yeah,” Stephanie smiles, bounding into the kitchen. “We’re here.”

Taeyeon sighs. “What have I told you about eavesdropping?”

“…to do it?” Stephanie smiles warily, backing out. The look her mate gives her is enough to have her run out of the kitchen. As soon as she’s out of sight, Taeyeon gets a dopey grin on her face. Kyungsoo grimaces.

“You’re whipped,” he tells her.

“I know.”

-

Baekhyun plucks at the grass with a bored sigh. Around him, most of the omegas are either lying down or sitting on the ground, watching the alphas show off their fighting skills with varying degrees of fascination, but Baekhyun is itching with the need to do something.

Junmyeon had promised that the omegas wouldn’t be left out, but so far neither the alphas nor the betas have wanted to train with them, too scared to hurt them, and Baekhyun and Kyungsoo are the only omegas with any knowledge of combat. His fellow omega looks just as bored as he is, eyes trained on a butterfly flying around.

“When are we going to join in?” Baekhyun asks exasperatedly. Taeyeon gives him an ‘I don’t know kid’ look and shrugs, pointing towards Junmyeon and Seokjin. They’re having a sort of argument away from prying ears. “I’m bored!”

“Come here,” Jongdae sighs, beckoning him over. Baekhyun jumps to his feet and shuffles over excitedly, but frowns when that alpha kid Taehyung gets in the way.

“Are you sure you should pair up with him?” he asks. Baekhyun simple stares at him, not understanding the question. 

“What do you mean? We’re the same height and build; it won’t be an unfair fight.”

“That’s not what I mean,” Taehyung says carefully, looking between Baekhyun and Chanyeol uneasily; the other alpha has stopped his training with Yifan and is now getting nearer to them.

“Then _what _do you mean?”__

__“Well,” Taehyung shifts, “you’re an omega and… he’s a beta.”_ _

__Once again, all Baekhyun does is stare. Chanyeol is standing behind him, but it doesn’t seem like he’s going to jump to defend his honour anytime soon. And before anyone of them can react, Taehyung is on his back and Baekhyun is looking down at him with a glare._ _

__“You’re an alpha,” he says slowly. “And yet you just got knocked the fuck down by an omega. Stay the hell out of my way next time and it won’t happen again.”_ _

__Chanyeol is grinning proudly. He elbows Mina, who’s next to him, and tells her, “That’s my boyfriend.”_ _

__“I know,” Mina laughs._ _

__Seokjin and Junmyeon are there in a flash, Junmyeon with a sort of hidden smile on his face while Seokjin looks confused out of his mind. “What just happened?” he demands, looking from Taehyung to Baekhyun and to the wolves gathered around them._ _

__“I got my ass handed to me,” Taehyung says. He’s sat up already and Jungkook is brushing grass off his head and back for him, laughing quietly._ _

__“It was amazing,” Jimin laughs. Taehyung kicks his shin._ _

__“Thank you Jimin,” Baekhyun nods. His face is flushed, from either the decreasing anger or the attention he’s getting, probably both._ _

__“Why?” Seokjin asks._ _

__“He told me I couldn’t fight with Jongdae because I’m an omega,” Baekhyun says._ _

__“Oh, so it runs in the family,” Jihyo snorts. Seokjin glares at her but Momo giggles into her neck._ _

__“It was stupid, but now it’s over,” Baekhyun says, helping Taehyung to his feet. The kid looks embarrassed now. “Don’t sweat it, okay? Just, don’t do that again.”_ _

__“Noted.”_ _

__Everyone goes back to their own thing after that, but this time the omegas are included. Seokjin doesn’t look too happy about it at first, but his omegas are enjoying themselves and it eventually puts a smile on his face._ _

__Apart from Baekhyun and Kyungsoo, who destroy nearly everyone, the ones doing the best job are Tzuyu and Soonkyu, followed close behind by Jeongyeon and Jimin. Sana is reluctant to hurt a fly, much less another person, but Momo eventually gets her to do the movements she shows her._ _

__Stephanie imitates everything Taeyeon demonstrates her with a smile on her face, although that does seem to be her default expression. Jungkook listens closely to Yoongi’s instructions and follows along, casting glances to Taehyung for confirmation that he is doing well._ _

__Tzuyu is having a little too much fun knocking others to the ground. It isn’t surprising since she has zero chill and even if her victims are the ones who mess with her the most, Baekhyun steers clear of her either way._ _

__Jimin practices with Hoseok. They do simple punches and kicks, but Jimin is lithe and fast and gets them done with ease. Soonkyu is small and moves quickly, which helps her avoid every punch Hyoyeon sends her way. Jeongyeon has long legs that kick and shift with grace, and she even lands a couple good punches on her trainer, Namjoon._ _

__Sehun has never fought like this before, but he’s a quick learner. Jongin is a good coach and teaches him the best ways to use his long limbs in battle, how to dodge and roll and hit hard enough to send someone down._ _

__Baekhyun practices with Jongdae, mostly, but he takes on other wolves too, other alphas. Yifan takes on the challenge and puts up a good fight, but in the end he tires and Baekhyun wins._ _

__“You move too much,” Baekhyun tells him. “All your energy goes into dodging and then you have nothing left for fighting.”_ _

__Yoongi agrees to fight with him too and he has fun, but beats Baekhyun after tricking him. Baekhyun is surprised when he realizes he’s sitting on his butt and laughs out loud. Chanyeol refuses to go anywhere near him, though._ _

__“He’s mad at me because he found a rat in our room,” he says. “I don’t want him to have an excuse to kick my ass.”_ _

__Kyungsoo does get to fight with him, and everyone has a good laugh when Chanyeol gives up and runs away. Kyungsoo chases after him with a smile and they disappear for a few minutes, then return; Kyungsoo looks smug while Chanyeol has dirt all over his face._ _

__They don’t stop practicing until nightfall. By then, everyone’s sweaty and exhausted, but there’s a buzz of energy in the air, indicator of the uplifted spirits among the omegas. Seokjin offers to make dinner and Kyungsoo helps him, the two settling into a quiet working environment._ _

__Dinner is alive with chatter and joking around. The head alphas don’t look worried for once in weeks, especially Junmyeon and Yifan. The omegas talk excitedly about what they learned today and gush over Baekhyun and Kyungsoo, who blush under all the attention. Chanyeol has an arm slung over Baekhyun’s shoulder and looks proud out of his mind, every now and then murmuring things into his ear that make him squirm in place._ _

__No one wants to know what exactly he’s telling him._ _

__-_ _

__Junmyeon gets the shock of his life when he walks into his bedroom to find Jongdae waiting for him. The beta clearly asked Minseok for privacy, the pillows and blankets on his hyung’s bed gone._ _

__“Hey,” Junmyeon says, surprised._ _

__“Hey,” Jongdae sighs. He shifts uncomfortably, taking a seat on Junmyeon’s bed and patting the spot next to him. Junmyeon sits obediently and waits for him to say something. “I’m sorry.”_ _

__“What?” Junmyeon asks. “No, I’m sorry! What are you sorry for?”_ _

__“I never gave you a chance to explain or apologize after what happened,” Jongdae elaborates. “I knew, at some level, that you didn’t mean what you said to Yifan, but I was too hurt to pay attention.”_ _

__“I shouldn’t have said that to him,” Junmyeon murmurs. “It wasn’t true, at all, I was just…”_ _

__Junmyeon stops midsentence and groans, rubbing his hands up and down his face. “I guess I was just upset and wanted him to stop trying to control me and Yixing and whether or not we could be friends. I wanted him to shut up and I blurted out the one thing I thought would make him and it turned out to be the wrong thing. It turned out to be a lie.”_ _

__Jongdae breathes in, turning to look at him sharply. “What do you-?”_ _

__“Jongdae,” Junmyeon says. “I want you to be my mate. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but eventually I want you to be mine. And I want you to have my mark on your neck and I want you to carry my pups and be with me. I probably don’t deserve you anymore.”_ _

__“I want that too,” Jongdae admits. He picks at a loose thread on the blanket, not meeting Junmyeon’s eyes. “I do. And you do deserve me, even if you were an ass.”_ _

__Junmyeon laughs, grabbing Jongdae’s hand in his and locking their fingers together. He kisses Jongdae’s knuckles, one by one, whispering, “I’ll make it up to you. No matter how long it takes me, I will make it up to you.”_ _

__“I know.”_ _

__-_ _

__“So,” Minseok drawls, spinning around on the office chair. “You think they fucking yet?”_ _

__“Who are we talking about here?” Kyungsoo asks. “Baekhyun and Chanyeol or Jongdae and Junmyeon?”_ _

__“The last two,” Minseok clarifies. “Baekhyun’s heat hasn’t struck yet.”_ _

__“Probably,” Kyungsoo says. “Although I think Jongdae’s gonna make him suffer for a little while so probably not.”_ _

__“Let’s hope they don’t do it tonight,” Minseok grimaces. “We have guests and Jongdae is loud.”_ _

__“They’ll get the whole house reeking of sex.”_ _

__“And what if they trigger Baekhyun’s heat? That’d be hell.”_ _

__“He could make the other omegas go in heat too.”_ _

__“Dear lord, I don’t want to go into heat.”_ _


	11. 11

Yixing watches the moon with half-heartened interest. The streets of Seoul are never quiet, not even at night, but at least this part of town houses people who appreciate sleep and have long gone to bed, allowing him to walk the streets in peace.

Many times before he’s asked Yifan to change his shift to the weekends, so he doesn’t miss out on his dramas or have to do homework in the dead of night, but his alpha is stubborn and a pain in the ass who likes to see him suffer, so he’s stuck with the Wednesday shift.

Yixing hates Wednesdays. 

He never wolfs out for patrol and tonight isn’t an exception – it’s easier this way, he doesn’t have to worry about hiding when people are near and he doesn’t bump into dumpsters with his tail. His feet are light stepping over the cobbled pavement, his shoes echoing in the silence of the street.

A few blocks down it’s a 7-11. Yixing pats his pockets in search of change, debating on what to buy, when a hand reaches out from the dark alley and grabs him.

-

Lu Han groans weakly, rolling over in bed and blindly reaches for his phone on the night table. He groans harder when he sees it’s only three pm and answers the call without checking to see who it is.

“This better be good,” he rasps. And sits up in bed immediately when he hears the response.

-

The first one to burst through the hospital doors is Lu Han, but that’s to be expected. Right behind him and looking equally panicked is Jongin, with Sehun clinging to his back like an overgrown toddler. Yifan and Zitao come in last, their alpha with a furious frown on his face.

“Hey guys,” Yixing smiles softly, tries to lift a hand to wave hello but thinks better of it when his shoulder aches in protest. “I’m fine; you can stop looking so worried now.”

“Fine?” Lu Han demands, wildly motioning with his hands to Yixing’s various bruises. “Xing, you’re not fine.”

A nurse approaches them from the station with a clipboard in hand and a doctor on her tail. “Which one of you is Mr. Lu Han?”

“I am,” Lu Han raises his hand, bowing kindly. The doctor grabs the chart on the end of Yixing’s bed and checks over a few things before asking, “It says here Mr. Zhang emancipated from his parents years ago, correct? And his emergency contact is his roommate Lu Han.”

“Yeah,” Yixing nods. “They live in China and it was easier to be my own person than to send forms to them over the internet for every little thing.”

“In that case, we need you to sign these papers,” the doctor hand him the clipboard the nurse had and points to the bottom, where a line meant to be signed over is. Yixing frowns when he reads over the form.

“It basically says here that if I die, it’s not your fault.”

“Die?!” Jongin exclaims. Sehun stifles a sob against his shoulder. Yifan steps up and grabs the clipboard from Yixing’s hands to look at it, but he has no idea what it says. He asks, “Why would he die?”

“And you are?” the doctor asks, folding his hands in front of him.

“I’m his friend,” Yifan glowers. The doctor purses his lips but takes one look at the distressed boys in front of him and sighs. 

“Mr. Zhang sustained multiple injuries that we are yet to treat,” he explains. “He has three broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, his left leg is practically shattered and a sprained ankle. We are preparing to get a brain MRI and we could barely stop the internal bleeding. He took quite a beating, boys, and we are yet to see how long he will have to stay here, depending on what the scans say. Excuse me.”

Yifan watches the doctor exit the emergency room and greet the police officers outside. One of them, a gruff-looking man with a moustache and a coffee stain on his shirt, looks over to Yixing’s bed and frowns, checking his notepad over and over for confirmation. If Yifan isn’t mistaken, he’s one of the Ambassador’s people, and will most likely inform the old man of the turn of events. He’s not sure that’ll turn out very well, considering the way things ended with him.

“We’ll be taking him to get that scan now,” the nurse smiles, helping Yixing into a wheelchair and rolling him away. Lu Han watches him wave goodbye until he’s out the door, then growls. It’s been hard keeping that in, but now that Yixing is gone he’s free to do as he wants without upsetting him.

“Lu Han, calm down,” Yifan sighs. 

Sehun, who so far has stayed hidden behind Jongin, takes a step forward and takes hold of his hand. “Let’s go wait in the cafeteria, okay?”

The five of them spend the following hours sitting in plastic chairs and drinking cheap, terrible hospital coffee while waiting for the results. Yifan notifies Junmyeon around six am and not even an hour later his pack come in, with a distraught Baekhyun babbling about how terrible he’s been treating Yixing and what a bad person he is. 

“He doesn’t hate you,” Zitao reassures him. “He can’t hate people. It’s not in his nature.”

The doctor that talked to them earlier tells them that the scans are clear, there’s no sign of brain injuries of any kind. He should be getting out in a week or two, according to him, but he’ll have to attend rehab for two months after the casts are off.

Lu Han is pissed, to say the least. He’s not just pissed, he’s vengeful and his mama bear instincts are kicking in. He rejects the offer to go see Yixing, assuring he’s fine and just going to the bathroom, waits for the other boys to disappear into the elevators and then leaves through the cafeteria door to the street.

-

“I’m so sorry,” Baekhyun gushes, tears leaking out of his eyes. Yixing tries to get him to stop multiple times but the omega is either really regretful or too close to his heat to stop his hormones from getting the better of him. Maybe both, who knows.

“It’s fine Baekhyun, really,” Yixing insists, ruffling his hair and smiling when Baekhyun sniffs and blinks tearfully at him. “Stop apologizing, I know you were protecting your best friend.”

Baekhyun nods, moving away from the bed to sit with Chanyeol and Minseok on the chair at the corner of the hospital room. There’s small, couch-like furniture against one wall and two fake leather chairs on the corners, one of which is now occupied with three wolves squished together.

“How are you feeling?” Sehun asks. He’s curled under Yifan’s arm now, seeking the comfort and protection of his alpha like he’s never done before. He keeps having flashbacks to months back when he was the one lying on a hospital bed, injured and in pain. Jongin looks like he’s lost a limb without Sehun next to him, but replaced him with Zitao and seems okay for now.

Yixing sighs, leaning his head on the bed. “I’m hurting everywhere, even my teeth. Did they tell you they knocked three out? A dentist is coming in the afternoon to check me out. But I guess I could be worse.”

“That’s true,” Junmyeon agrees. “At least your brain is fine. And, it’s mostly broken bone, those will heal soon.”

“They injected him with wolfs bane,” Yifan says quietly. “I don’t think he’ll heal too fast.”

“We just need to wait and see then,” Yixing grins. He’s way too optimistic, considering the circumstances.

Then, Jongdae frowns, looking around. “Lu Han hasn’t come back yet.”

The rest of the packs seem to notice the absence of the beta for the first time. Yifan gives a frustrated groan at the back of his throat, whipping out his phone and dialling what Yixing assumes is Lu Han’s number.

“Where are you?” Yifan asks. “Pick up the phone before I find you and hit you in the face.”

“Nice,” Zitao says disapprovingly. “Straight and to the point, no sympathy whatsoever.”

“Shut up,” Yifan grumbles back. Junmyeon makes some calls of his own, asks Taeyeon to check around the woods with some of her girls in case Lu Han is just blowing off steam, but they all know the odds of that being the case are slim, at best.

-

When night falls and still no sign of Lu Han, the packs gather in the living room at Junmyeon’s to have a serious discussion. Zitao points out that the beta is reckless and overprotective of Yixing, which is not a good combination right now. Yifan also says that more than once Lu Han has gotten in trouble because of his short temperament and general stubbornness. Sehun then mentions that Lu Han thinks himself invincible, to which Jongin adds he’s a ‘do first, think later’ kind of guy and tada, everyone’s worried and about to march out the door in search for his stupid ass.

Except they can’t all go because someone has to stay and watch the house, and the omegas can’t just go since hunters always go after them first, and Baekhyun is close to his heat so he might distract Chanyeol, and Sehun is not in the state of mind to fight. In the end, they choose Momo, Yoongi, Seokjin and Yifan, three strong alphas and one beta that have great auto control and are highly skilled in combat. Chanyeol reassures Momo time and time again he’ll take good care of Sana, since he and Jisoo will be taking the omegas to a safe house in the forest until they find Lu Han.

“Let’s go Momo,” Seokjin sighs, tugging her away gently. She gives Sana one last kisses before following the alphas out the door, grumbling about intruding assholes. Seokjin only laughs quietly, shutting the door behind them.

“The car’s ready,” Junmyeon announces, entering through the garage door. He tosses the keys to Chanyeol, who catches them at the last second. The omegas have backpacks with the essentials, and so do Chanyeol and Jisoo, just enough for a weekend away.

Chanyeol starts the car while he waits for the others to say temporary goodbye. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo have fallen prisoners to their packmates, Minseok wrapping their coats tightly around them while Jongdae fusses around them. Junmyeon asks if they have everything they need, smiling bashfully when Baekhyun coos and tells him it’s too bad the alpha can’t climb into his bag.

One by one, the omegas get in the truck. It’s a tight fit, but with Tzuyu sitting on Jisoo’s lap on the front seat and the omegas overlapping each other in the back, they make do. The safe house isn’t too far away, about thirty minutes by car, but most have fallen asleep by the time they get there. Chanyeol has to carry Baekhyun and Kyungsoo inside, then Jungkook and Jimin and finally Sehun, while Jisoo takes the females. 

There are two rooms only, since this is meant for a six-wolf pack. “Boys in one and girls in the other?” Chanyeol asks. 

“Okay,” Jisoo nods, setting Sana on the couch briefly so she can get the doors open. Chanyeol manoeuvres Baekhyun on one of the beds, sets Kyungsoo next to him after. Jungkook and Jimin are halfway awake and land on the opposite bed, murmuring about how Sehun can crash with them so Chanyeol can sleep with his packmates. Chanyeol thanks them and goes outside to fetch Sehun, the lanky omega latching on like a koala while the alpha carries him inside.

Chanyeol almost dies of cuteness overload when Sehun doesn’t want to let go, but Jungkook tugs at his shirt and Sehun goes willingly then, searching for body heat. When the three are snoring, Chanyeol sighs and runs a tired hand through his hair, walking two steps back and sitting down on the edge of the bed where Baekhyun and Kyungsoo are. He’s about to lie down and go to sleep when Jisoo knocks on the door softly and pokes her head inside, asking if everything’s alright. 

“We’re good,” Chanyeol assures her, making swiping motions around the room. She smiles and wishes him a goodnight, and then she’s gone.

“Yeol?”

Nimble fingers seek him out in the dark. Chanyeol takes hold of them with a reassuring grip, going down with ease when Baekhyun tugs him to the bed. Kyungsoo is curled up into a ball, facing the wall, and there’s not much space on the bed to begin with, but Baekhyun makes Chanyeol lie down on his back and Baekhyun takes the spot on top of him, nuzzling into his neck. 

“Do you think Lu Han is alright?” Baekhyun asks quietly. His voice is partly muffled by the alpha’s skin, but the question seems almost too loud in the quietness of the room.

Chanyeol sighs. “I don’t know Baek. I hope so.”

“Shut up,” Kyungsoo grumbles. He turns his head around just enough to give them a dirty look, which only intensifies when Chanyeol pulls him into his arms, but Baekhyun locks their fingers together and brings their joined hands up to his mouth, something he used to do when they were kids and Kyungsoo relaxes, getting the message. 

It’s a little too hot like this, and Chanyeol knows he’s going to wake up with a sore neck, but the omegas are comfortable and safe and to be honest that’s all he cares about.

-

The next morning, Chanyeol wakes up due to a sweet scent making its way to his nose. He groans, sniffing briefly until he realizes what the scent is and his eyes snap open, automatically looking for Baekhyun. 

He meets his boyfriend’s equally panicked eyes. Baekhyun shakes his head, muttering, “It’s not me.” They look at Kyungsoo, who’s waking up and decide it isn’t him when they hear a whimper from across the room.

Chanyeol doesn’t want to look, he really doesn’t, it’s bad enough that he has to smell it, but his curiosity gets the better of him and his eyes are traitorous little snakes because they wander over on their own to the other bed. 

Sehun is getting out, legs tangled on the blankets but he eventually escapes their clutches. It isn’t him, clearly, which only leaves two suspects. It isn’t long when Chanyeol figures out who it is.

“Out,” Kyungsoo barks at him, pushing Chanyeol out of bed and towards the door but not before he gets a good look at Jungkook, who’s flushed red and panting and his hard dick is almost visible through his sweatpants. Chanyeol doesn’t have to look further to know he’s leaking, too, and the thought sends a spark of arousal to his own cock. Yeah, he needs to get out of here.

Once he remembers how his legs work, Chanyeol runs out the door with a yelp and an apology to Jungkook for looking at him without permission. He thinks Jungkook mutters something back, but he’s terrified of staying close for too long.

“What’s going on?” Jisoo asks him when she sees him, eyes wide. 

“Heat,” Chanyeol says simply. “Jungkook is in heat. Call… I don’t know, Taehyung? They’re mates, right?”

“Not yet,” Jisoo shakes her head. “But I will, just. Stay here and stick your head out the window or something, get fresh air and stay away from that room until Taehyung gets here.”

Chanyeol doesn’t need to be told twice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> should i make an extra for taekook?


	12. 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry this took so long :(

Taehyung arrives in a flash. He hoists Jungkook up in his arms, carries him to the car and drives away in less than a minute. Jimin stands in the living room with a confused expression on his face before gingerly sitting down with Sehun on the couch. Chanyeol is reminded of how he feels whenever he doesn’t have Baekhyun with him, because he makes the exact same expression.

Sehun, on his end, keeps checking his phone every few minutes in hopes of receiving an update from Jongin about Lu Han. Chanyeol is tempted to tell him that even if they do know something they’re not going to tell him, but Baekhyun made it clear that wasn’t the best idea. 

For hours, all they do is sit around and wait for the call to let them know they’re free to go home, Lu Han is back and he’s fine, he’s just upset about Yixing. Chanyeol isn’t even sure Yixing knows Lu Han is missing – he heard from Jongdae that they’re taking turns visiting him and that they came up with an excuse about Lu Han’s papers as a reason for his absence. Chanyeol doesn’t think he buys it.

Jisoo, in her worshipping-worthy existence, keeps the omegas entertained, something Chanyeol doesn’t think he would have been able to do on his own. Sure, he, Baekhyun and Kyungsoo could fend for them just fine, but other than Sehun he doesn’t know the omegas and wouldn’t have any idea on how to distract them. He’s so lucky to have Jisoo, to be honest.

-

Baekhyun is getting tired of this. He feels trapped in the damn, stuffy safe house, surrounded by too many people at all times. And Chanyeol isn’t making things easier, sniffing him every few minutes to “keep track of his heat”. A load of crap, if you ask Baekhyun.

He knows his heat isn’t due for at least one more week, probably pushed back due to stress eating him up from the inside out. His skin hasn’t felt itchy for days and his heart is beating just fine, yet Chanyeol doesn’t let up. Kyungsoo seems amused, mostly, although he sends the taller boy exasperated glances when he gets fed up.

Finally, when Baekhyun has had enough, he snaps at Chanyeol to “stop that before I tear your nose off and shove it down your throat,” and the alpha recoils with a hurt look on his face.

Baekhyun feels kind of bad, but not bad enough to apologize, so instead he gives Chanyeol half his portion of dessert – mostly some wild berries and a few strawberries they picked from the surrounding forest – and offers him a shy smile. Chanyeol looks over the moon at the sight of his little peace offering and smothers him in kisses. 

-

They go back home the next day. 

Lu Han sits on the couch, his right eye swollen and purplish, his lip split. Baekhyun thinks it’s the aftermath of his little trip, but the bruised knuckles on Jongin’s hand tell another story. It’s only Baekhyun’s pack in the living room plus the boys from Yifan’s; Jisoo shares a look with Junmyeon and takes the other omegas to reunite with their packs.

“We have news,” Junmyeon says. He looks more stressed out than ever, pale and wide-eyed. It does nothing to sooth the ball of nerves in Baekhyun’s stomach. “They’re not good.”

Baekhyun sits down per Junmyeon’s insistence. He doesn’t know what’s going on but the worry in Jongdae’s eyes, the way he keeps biting his lips and avoiding his gaze makes Baekhyun think this is really, really bad.

“Lu Han found out some stuff,” Minseok starts. He’s the best when it comes to talking to Baekhyun. “The hunters who attacked Sehun, the ones who’ve been here in Seoul for months, aren’t affiliated to the ones coming from outside of the city.”

“I couldn’t find any ties linking them together,” Lu Han says. “I searched high and low and there’s absolutely nothing apart from being hunters. All I know is, the hunters that attacked Yixing have killed countless packs in Korea and are now in Seoul.”

“What does that mean?” Baekhyun asks in a tiny voice. He knows what that means; he just doesn’t want to face it.

“It means we’re in deep shit,” Lu Han chuckles. Jongin delivers a backhand slap to his head.

“We still have a lot of thinking to do,” Yifan tells Baekhyun. “Go to bed, all of you. We’ll talk in the morning.”

Baekhyun is jittery and shaky the whole way to his bedroom. Chanyeol tells him to wait for a few minutes before going to shower so they can do it together, but Baekhyun just wants to crash into his bed and sleep his life away.

“You need to shower,” Chanyeol says with finality. “Come on, I’ll even wash your back for you.”

Baekhyun can’t really say no to that face, can he?

The water is warm on his skin. Baekhyun hums appreciatively, hanging his head under the stream and closing his eyes. Chanyeol sneaks an arm around his waist and pulls him close, his other hand reaching for their shampoo bottle, knocking over a few others on the way. Their bathroom has become a war zone – there’s shampoo and soaps everywhere, a little under a thousand toothbrushes by the sink and there never seem to be any dry, clean towels around anymore. 

“Close your eyes,” Chanyeol murmurs. Baekhyun does as he’s told, Chanyeol massaging his scalp.

Baekhyun kind of wants to cry. He knows he should, too, he should let it out and go to bed relaxed and devoid of tears, but he can’t bring himself to do it. All he can think of doing right now is screaming and then sink into his bed with his pack around him. And Sehun, too, maybe. He likes the omega.

“You’re thinking too much,” Chanyeol says. “Stop thinking, right now.”

“I can’t,” Baekhyun whines. “You know how I feel about hunters.”

Chanyeol sighs. “I know.”

Chanyeol pats his bum to signal his hair is done and Baekhyun lets the water wash off the suds. Afterwards, Chanyeol runs the soap all over his back and shoulders to get them soapy and uses his hands to spread it on his chest and face. Baekhyun giggles when Chanyeol washes his face and the alpha smiles brightly at a mission accomplished.

Once Chanyeol does his own hair and body, they step out and again Baekhyun stands still while Chanyeol takes care of him, towelling his hair dry and wrapping the towel around him. They get dressed quickly and Baekhyun slips under the covers quietly, followed closely by Chanyeol.

Just as Baekhyun is about to fall asleep, lulled by Chanyeol’s soft hums pressed to his neck, he hears a whimper from across the room. Baekhyun squints at the other bed in the room, confused, and when his eyes adjust to the darkness he sees Lu Han curled up under the covers, clutching the spare pillow to his bed and twitching.

“He’s having a nightmare,” Chanyeol murmurs. “I would too if someone put you in the hospital like that.”

Baekhyun doesn’t take a minute to think about it. He gets out of bed and pitter patters to the beta, removing the blankets carefully long enough to wrap himself around Lu Han. Chanyeol does the same on the other side of him, throwing an arm over his waist and tangling his fingers with Baekhyun.

Lu Han doesn’t even wake up, but he does snuggle closer to them and stops whimpering in his sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter isn't very interesting since there wasn't much to do plot-wise but i promise they get better! leave a comment if you liked it, i live off those


	13. 13

Yixing is allowed to leave the hospital two weeks later. The minute he walks through the door, he’s ambushed by his packmates that weren’t allowed to go with Yifan to the hospital – Sehun, Jongin and Zitao -, along with Baekhyun who is definitely too close to his heat now for comfort. Yixing gives him a week.

Sehun looks… different, taller, like he’s grown into himself. Yixing wonders what it is that could have changed in such little amount of time. He doesn’t even have the chance to ask, though, because he’s hoarded to the couch where he’s not allowed to move from unless he has someone helping him around.

Jongin also seems different, but only because he can barely hold eye contact with Yixing for two seconds before stuttering and looking away. It’s endlessly cute, if Yixing is being honest. He’s always found Jongin endearing.

At night, Lu Han wraps him up in what feel like a thousand blankets and makes sure his pillow is as fluffed as possible before sinking into bed with him, putting an arm around his waist with care. 

-

The next morning it’s packs meeting in the living room. They cramp into the otherwise large space, mates sharing seats and unmated wolfs shoving elbows into other people’s stomachs. 

Jungkook, Jimin and Taehyung somehow all fit into the reclining chair by the window – Taehyung is squished under the two and complains that Jimin is suffocating him, to which the omega replies with a harsh slap to the thigh and a humph. 

Baekhyun and Jongdae are draped over each other on the floor. Kyungsoo steps on them ‘accidentally’ on his way to where Sehun and Jongin are seated. Chanyeol pretends not to laugh.

“I believe,” Taeyeon says. Her voice is slightly strained since both Juhyun and Yoona are sitting on her, but no one comments on it. “That we have found where the hunters are hiding.”

“Well, hiding is a bit generous,” Seokjin snorts. “They rented out some houses not too far from here and are being pretty obvious about it, if you haven’t noticed.”

Oh, they’ve noticed. For the last three, maybe four days, on their way to and from school, everytime they head out for groceries or to do errands, they can see, smell and hear a big group of humans nearby. They aren’t close enough to make them (read: the alphas) nervous and they haven’t attacked or anything so they probably don’t know they’re there, but Baekhyun hasn’t been able to sleep well, Sehun is jumpy and everyone else has been on edge.

Junmyeon wanted to call the Ambassador, ask for his help, but whenever he picks up the phone he remembers the way they parted last time and the urge dies down pretty fast. And it isn’t like he’d help anyway, Yifan reminds him.

Junmyeon watches the way Baekhyun tenses at the reminder that their potential murderers are so close to them and wants so badly to reach out and reassure him. He doesn’t even know what he would say to his friend, but anything is better than watching him suffer in silence.

“You’re pouting,” Yixing teases him quietly. They’re sitting on the same couch, their shoulders pressed together. “A penny for your thoughts?”

“I don’t know what to say,” Junmyeon whispers. Sooyoung looks up from her spot on the floor and glances in their direction briefly before turning away again, clearly tuning them out. Junmyeon isn’t sure how many more of them are doing the same, but he hopes its most, if not all of them – he’s not a big fan of baring his heart out for everyone to hear.

“Then don’t say anything,” Yixing says simply. “And just… show whatever it is you’re feeling.”

Junmyeon ponders over that for the following minutes. He’s not even paying attention to what the other head alphas are talking anymore. He wonders what would be a good way to show Baekhyun – his whole pack, honestly – that he’s here for them, no matter what. That if he could, he would disappear the hunters off the face of the earth without putting any of them in danger.

A tiny idea is just starting to form in his mind when Jisoo shakes him out of his thoughts. “Junmyeon ssi?” 

“What?”

“I asked if you have any weapons at home.”

Junmyeon nods, not quite sure of where she’s going with that. 

“Great, I have a feeling we’ll need them.”

-

In retrospect, saying they need weapons in front of the omegas wasn’t the best idea. Baekhyun and Sehun, as soon as they’re dismissed from the reunion, scramble off to God knows where and are MIA for the next two hours.

Lu Han tries not to look too put out at being ditched when he and Sehun supposedly had plans to go to the movies. Chanyeol pats him on the back and tells him to get used to it, because no matter how kind and selfless omegas are, when they need to, they can leave everyone behind and focus on themselves for once.

So in the meantime, Lu Han and Junmyeon flank Yixing on either side of the couch and force him to watch Deadpool for what seems like the third time in the last month. And per Yixing’s request, they get buttered popcorn even if the doctor put him in a strict diet since some of his exams’ results were worrying.

The movie is almost over when Baekhyun and Sehun return. Chanyeol forces them to sit with him on the floor, throwing an arm around their shoulders each. Lu Han smiles at the sight of Sehun trying not to lean in even if he very obviously wants to.

Junmyeon gets up to get water and Jongin takes the chance to sit down next to Yixing, smiling shyly at the older boy. They decide to leave the two lovebirds alone, Lu Han dragging Sehun out the front door, car keys dangling from his hands. Chanyeol and Baekhyun go up to their room, which leaves Junmyeon without a clue of where or what to do.

Naturally, he looks for Jongdae.

He finds the beta holed up in his room, hidden under his blankets with Kyungsoo and watching some cheap horror movie on the the younger’s laptop. They jump about three inches off the bed when Junmyeon slams the door closed, just because he can, and gets dirty glares in return.

They look like disgruntled puppies and it’s adorable.

“I’m leaving,” Kyungsoo announces right after, detangling himself from Jongdae despite his protests.

“No, Soo!” Jongdae whines, holding on to this arm and tugging him down in a poor attempt to keep him warm.

Junmyeon tries to stop Kyungsoo too, but the younger boy merely shrugs and says he has to get started on dinner. Junmyeon kind of wants to say Hyoyeon and Jessica are already on it, but knowing him, Kyungsoo will somehow shoo them out and finish things himself.

Once they’re alone, Jongdae flashes Junmyeon a grin and pats the empty spot beside him. Junmyeon smiles back and climbs in, noticing the space is still warm. Jongdae gives him a weak run through of the movie so far before tapping the space bar and resuming the movie.

Junmyeon, too tired from the previous events of the day, is asleep not even five minutes in. Jongdae doesn’t even notice until he starts snoring and doesn’t let him hear what was being said in the movie.

He lays Junmyeon down on the bed so he doesn’t have to sleep all propped up on the wall, puts the laptop to hibernate and then lies down with him too, all in for a nap before dinner.   
Except he doesn’t really get to close his eyes for longer than a minute when he smells Baekhyun.

He all but kicks Junmyeon out of bed, the alpha getting a whiff immediately and springing into action. Jongdae heads straight downstairs to alert Kyungsoo and make sure no one is on the way to the basement, while Junmyeon goes get Baekhyun.

The poor thing is writhing on the bed, his skin red and glistening with sweat. Chanyeol looks panicked, probably because Baekhyun’s heats are the absolute worst, and it isn’t until Junmyeon tells him to get the door that he snaps out of it.

Junmyeon ignores Baekhyun’s feeble protests and scoops him up, reminding Chanyeol to grab whatever he thinks they might need before rushing out the door. The halls are devoid of people, thankfully, except for a wide-eyed Kyungsoo that hands Chanyeol a plastic bag filled with food while pinching his nose and Minseok, who is at the entrance of the dreadful room, armed with supplements and juice bottles.

Once Baekhyun is set on the bed and Chanyeol is dumping all the stuff on the floor, Junmyeon gets the hell out of the room. They wait until they hear the click that signals it’s locked from the inside and heave a collective sigh.

“I’m going back to cooking,” Kyungsoo murmurs. He looks pale; Junmyeon hopes he didn’t get a whiff of Baekhyun or else they’re screwed.

Minseok goes after him quietly, looking back to the door with a concern clear on his face. Junmyeon and Jongdae, who climbs down the stairs laden with water bottles to leave by the door, stare at each other for a full minute before breaking out in giggles.

-

Minseok helps wash the dishes after dinner. Kyungsoo sits in a kitchen stool, drinking about three gallons of water as precaution while watching him. Everyone’s gone to bed already, the whole day’s excitement getting them sleepy earlier than usual. 

“Hyung,” Kyungsoo calls out softly. Minseok hums, not turning away from the soapy plate in his hands. “I was wondering if, maybe,” he stutters, “you would like to, like, go out? Or something?”

Kyungsoo bites his lower lip out of nervousness, waiting for Minseok to reply. The beta stops rinsing, as if caught off guard.

Carefully, he asks, “As in… a date?”

“…yeah…”

“Okay.”

“Really?!” Kyungsoo starts, clearly expecting to be rejected. But instead he gets an affirmative answer? Wow.

“Yeah, really,” Minseok says, giggling a little. He’s now turned around, looking straight at Kyungsoo and his adorable gaping face. The omega suddenly realizes his mouth is hanging open and promptly shuts his jaw, schooling his expression to careful excitement minus the heart eyes and love-struck face.

Minseok doesn’t even bother hiding those himself, sending Kyungsoo a big smile before getting back to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is it obvious i lost inspiration for this lmao


	14. 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote this in a day so if you spot any mistakes, please let me know!
> 
> (holy shit 4000 hits???)

Kyungsoo frowns, pushing the cup away from his mouth. “This tastes terrible.”

He never drinks coffee unless he’s got cream and sugar to go with it and he truly doesn’t know what got into him that made him agree to Minseok’s offer of black, bitter coffee, but he’s regretting it.

Minseok frowns too, although his is more upset than disgusted. Kyungsoo immediately feels bad, but not bad enough to take another sip. Instead, he gets up to grab the sugar container from the cupboard and the milk carton, fixing his coffee to be the way he likes it.

“There,” Kyungsoo smiles, trying it out. “Better.”

“You really don’t like it bitter, huh?” Minseok laughs. He doesn’t seem mad, which is a relief. It only just occurs to Kyungsoo he might have insulted him. “Lu Han owes me ten bucks.”

Kyungsoo raises both eyebrows, although he doesn’t comment. He knows Minseok and Lu Han have been making little bets these past few days, all focused around the people in the house, but he never guessed they would bet on him.

“He thought I liked bitter bean juice?” Minseok laughs again, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

“I said,” Lu Han interrupts, walking into the kitchen out of nowhere. “You looked like the kind of guy who liked it simple. Never guessed you’d be the kind to complicate his drinks.”

Kyungsoo points a finger at him. “It’s not complicating them if it makes them better.”

Lu Han rolls his eyes good-naturedly, grabbing a mug and getting some coffee for himself. Like Minseok, his coffee remains black, and Kyungsoo attributes it to them being old and weird.

The others slowly begin trickling in, everyone in varying stages of undress as well as consciousness. Some, like Junmyeon and Jisoo, are bright and peppy, making more coffee when the pot empties out, while others like Jessica and Tzuyu still have their eyes closed.

Jongin comes in around eleven, shirt missing and the pillow practically still attached to his face, only to be ushered out by Lu Han with a reprimand to put some clothes on. Jongin doesn’t even seem to understand what’s happening, but he lets Yifan lead him back to his temporary room to change.

At noon, while Hyoyeon and Mina cook lunch, Junmyeon summons the head alphas and their first betas to his room. Kyungsoo tags along, just for the hell of it, and since no one calls him out, he figures they don’t really mind.

Junmyeon stands in front of the window, Minseok sitting on his own bed with Kyungsoo tucked to his side. Taeyeon and Jessica have taken over the armchair in a corner of the room, looking far too comfortable considering they’re sharing a seat meant for one. Yifan and Lu Han are on Junmyeon’s bed, backs resting on the wall and legs dangling off the edge. Seokjin and Namjoon remain standing, leaning on the wall too. And finally, Jisoo and Nayeon sit cross legged on the floor, hands folded on their laps.

Kyungsoo watches Junmyeon fidget with the sleeves of his shirt, obviously trying to find the correct words for what he wants to say. None of them says a thing to give him time to gather his thoughts.

“I was thinking,” Junmyeon starts. “Well, Minseok and I were - there’s been a lot of talk in the wolf community about this, what we’re doing and most importantly, about what the hunters have been doing, and…”

He trails off, looking off to the side and locking eyes with Minseok. The beta gives him a nod, as if encouraging him to say something that’s troubling him. It peaks Kyungsoo’s interest, because their alpha never questioned or doubted his decisions, so it must be something big or else he wouldn’t be having so much trouble getting it out.

“Instead of sitting around and waiting for them to come here,” Junmyeon says, “we should go to them.”

His statement is met with silence for about twenty seconds. Logically that’s not long, but it feels like it to Kyungsoo, who can only listen to the collective speed up of everyone’s heartbeat. He and Nayeon accidentally lock eyes and Kyungsoo sees his nervousness reflected on her face, although she tries to cover it up with a shaky smile. Leave it to a beta to try and comfort others even when they’re not okay.

“Do you mean,” Namjoon starts slowly, “we should go _looking_ for the hunters?”

“Yes,” Junmyeon nods.

“Why?” Seokjin questions. Despite his initial impression, he turned out to be a fairly good alpha, so Kyungsoo is inclined to believe he’s asking to understand rather than to shoot the idea down.

“It’s either them or us,” Junmyeon says simply. “I’d rather it be us. To be honest, I think it gives us a better opportunity to…”

 _Survive_. He doesn’t say it out loud, but Kyungsoo know they heard it as if he shouted it. Despite how true it is, it doesn’t settle well with any of them and Kyungsoo finds himself regretting being here more and more with each passing second.

As if sensing his discomfort, Minseok squeezes his shoulder briefly, a silent message of ‘I’m here’. Kyungsoo is grateful for the gesture, even if it makes him feel a little too giddy inside. Across from him, Lu Han shoots him a smile, the complete opposite to Yifan’s serious gaze. The tall alpha seems lost in thought, his eyebrows pinched together with concentration.

“And if we agree,” Taeyeon licks her lips, Jessica mimicking the action with uncanny resemblance, “what would we be doing, exactly?”

Junmyeon takes a deep breath, most likely to steel his nerves. “We figure out where it is they’re staying, precisely. We train some more. We go there, and we kill them.”

The room is plunged in silence. It’s different to the previous silence, because this time all cards are on the table and more than one wish they’d folded when they still could.

Kyungsoo could swear they could hear a pin drop, if only they weren’t all too busy digesting Junmyeon’s words. There’s a sudden chill in the air that wasn’t there before, and not even Minseok’s warmth could keep him from shuddering at the idea.

Kyungsoo has never killed anyone before. He’s sure Junmyeon hasn’t either. Yifan has, that hunter months ago in his apartment, and Minseok once nearly killed one during a hunt. He doesn’t know about the others, although judging from their expressions, some have and some haven’t.

Surprisingly, or not, Seokjin seems to have. His face has paled considerately, his eyes looking off into the distance, but rather than disgust or apparel to the idea, he looks like he’s relieving the worst time of his life.

Kyungsoo wonders what the story behind that is, even if there’s no doubt that whatever he did was done for his pack. Seokjin is like that, the type of alpha who charges head first into a gun fight with only his hands if it means keeping his family safe.

The silence stretches on for minutes. Taeyeon and Jessica keep exchanging looks, as if having a heated argument with each other even if no words are exchanged. Unlike them, Yifan looks like he’s made up his mind, and it doesn’t seem good.

Curiosity makes him glance over to his alpha. Kyungsoo finds that Junmyeon doesn’t look nervous or scared, just a daunting kind of resigned and resolute all at once. He no longer has that expression that meant he feared their reaction. Kyungsoo worries for his alpha, especially now.

Finally, it’s Jisoo who speaks up. Her voice shakes, but her gaze is steady when she locks eyes with Junmyeon.

“We’ll have your back. But my omegas stay here. I’m not risking them like that.”

“Understandable,” Junmyeon agrees. He turns to Yifan for his verdict then.

“Same.”

“Here too,” Taeyeon raises her hand. Seokjin nods to indicate he’s giving the same conditions.

“Shouldn’t you let us choose?”

Kyungsoo doesn’t realize he’s voiced his thoughts aloud until all heads turn to him. What shocks him the most is that Seokjin doesn’t look like he disagrees, unlike everyone else, who stare at him with a sort of pity mixed with condescendence he doesn’t appreciate one bit.

“Kyungsoo-yah,” Lu Han starts, but is interrupted by Junmyeon.

“He’s right,” his alpha nods. “At least I’m not forcing my omegas to stay or go. Especially Baekhyun, since I have no idea what he’ll want to do.”

“But he’s traumatized!” Jessica exclaims, the first time she’s spoken in the whole meeting. “It’s not a good idea to send him there.”

“Baekhyun’s feisty though,” Seokjin says. “I don’t think he’d be against kicking some hunter’s butt if given the opportunity.”

Taeyeon scoffs. “So now you’re all for omega power. You didn’t seem to think the same way weeks ago.”

Seokjin glares at her, alpha pheromones getting out of control now. Namjoon grabs his wrist, rubbing his thumb over Seokjin’s pulse, but it doesn’t seem to do the trick. Kyungsoo pushes down the whine that builds in his throat when the scent hits him, focusing on Minseok’s arm around him.

“I’m just saying, Baekhyun isn’t like most omegas I’ve met, he’ll be fine,” Seokjin huffs.

This time it’s Jisoo who challenges him, big eyes cold as ice. “What about your own omegas? Will they have a choice?”

They continue to argue like that for what seems like an eternity, throwing omegas’ names around just to get a rise out of the other alphas. By this point, it is no longer about giving them a choice but about seeing who backs down first.

Even Junmyeon is in on it, growling at Jessica when she insists Baekhyun should stay home. The only ones quiet are Minseok and Kyungsoo, even though the omega is sure Minseok is silent only for his sake.

It isn’t until someone – he doesn’t know who, and he doesn’t care – says something along the lines of ‘Baekhyun will probably freak out when we get there and ruin the plan’ that Kyungsoo snaps.

“Shut up!”

The shout gets everyone’s attention at once. Junmyeon stops mid-snarl to glance at him, his eyes red and fangs poking his lower lip. It’s a good thing Kyungsoo got their attention before it got out of hand.

“Who the hell do you think you people are?” he continues, shaking Minseok off him to stand up. “Let’s start with how none of you is a psychiatrist so you can’t say whether Baekhyun is ‘traumatized’ or not. He’s a big boy and he can make his own decisions.”

Kyungsoo stares them all down, practically glaring, and more than one looks down in shame. “Second,” he continues, “just because of our status, it doesn’t mean omegas can’t do things on our own. All of you acting like you have a say on us is disgusting. Let your omegas decide if they want to fight. Stop acting like a bunch of ancient alphas and grow up.”

With that, Kyungsoo turns on his heels and leaves the bedroom, making sure to slam the door behind him. His heart is racing from the anger and the impotence, and admittedly, a little bit from the adrenaline rush. He just screamed at a bunch of stubborn alphas and got away with it. Baekhyun would be proud.

Speaking of Baekhyun; Kyungsoo wonders how he’s doing, if they need any more water or food, if Chanyeol is keeping up with Baekhyun’s heat or if he will need Jongdae’s help. Sometimes they do that, because heats are a pain and no matter how much alpha pride are at stake, one alpha usually isn’t enough.

A knock on the door shakes him out of his thoughts. Kyungsoo smells Jongdae is alone, so he lets him in.

The beta has an amused smile when he walks in, looking far too pleased with him. Kyungsoo rolls his eyes at his best friend, ignoring the way he’s practically pleading him to share what happened.

“Junmyeon is whimpering like a puppy, you know?”

Kyungsoo grunts.

“Minseok is shocked.”

Kyungsoo grunts again.

“Lu Han is thinking of building a shrine to you.”

Kyungsoo cracks a smile at least, clearly seeing Lu Han doing that in his head. It’s not too difficult to imagine.

“What about the others?” Kyungsoo asks. “How pissed off are they?”

“Well, other than Seokjin, who is more amazed than anything,” Jongdae plops down on his bed, holding a stuffed bunny to his chest, “they’re a six, on a scale of one to ten.”

“Really?” Kyungsoo muses. “That’s not so bad.”

“It really isn’t, considering you practically called them uneducated assholes.”

“You heard, huh?”

“We all did,” Jongdae admits. “The omegas say thank you, by the way.”

“I didn’t do it for them,” Kyungsoo frowns. “I think I did it mostly for Baekhyun and myself, and they just got roped into it too.”

Jongdae nods, understanding, and doesn’t speak again. Kyungsoo appreciates his presence, the beta always a source of comfort. It gives him enough calm to think about what happened, but doesn’t let his thoughts get too loud, humming to a song every once in a while.

Kyungsoo, now also lying on his bed, is almost lulled to sleep when someone knocks on his door, but before he can speak up Sehun pokes his head in.

“They want everyone downstairs,” he tells them.

In the living room, Kyungsoo sits between Jongdae and Lu Han, far away from the head alphas and their glares. Junmyeon meets eyes with him but doesn’t say anything – he doesn’t look upset, at least, which gives Kyungsoo some breathing space. He can live with the other alphas mad at him, their betas too, but not his alpha.

“What is it you guys were talking about that had Kyungsoo hyung so riled up?” Taehyung asks, right off the bat. He doesn’t even bat an eye when Namjoon widens his eyes in his direction, grinning at Seokjin when all his alpha does is smirk.

“I wasn’t riled up,” Kyungsoo mumbles at the same time Junmyeon says, “That’s what we want to discuss with you.”

Everyone is quiet as Junmyeon explains his plan, Minseok stepping in every once in a while when Junmyeon needs his support. As Kyungsoo expected, the omegas all protested loudly when he mentioned the head alphas didn’t want them involved, but Lu Han placated them all with, “Kyungsoo-yah already won the battle for you kids, there’s no need to get upset.”

Kyungsoo blushes under the attention he receives, nodding in the general direction of Tzuyu when she mouths her thanks. It never occurred to him that, as the head alpha’s mate, she might have been under fire from her fellow omegas if Kyungsoo hadn’t stepped in.

“All that’s left is to know who wants to go and who doesn’t,” Junmyeon concludes. “Please, remember this isn’t like before, this time you’ll be agreeing to… to murder.”

“Let us know tomorrow,” Seokjin says. “Sleep on it. And not just the omegas, but the betas and alphas too. We won’t make you do anything.”

With that, everyone disperses to do their own thing. Kyungsoo goes into the kitchen, followed by Jongdae like a loyal puppy. “What are you doing?”

“I’m making bulgogi for Baekhyun and Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo says, pulling out all the ingredients to set on the counter. “I don’t want them to starve, which they probably will since they’re so dumb.”

“I’ll help!” Jongdae offers enthusiastically.

“Fine, but don’t burn anything.”

-

Baekhyun is on fire.

Well, not literally, but it sure feels like it. He’s been awake for a minute and he already wants to go back to bed or have Chanyeol do something about it. He groans in protest when Chanyeol makes him sit up in bed, the blankets pooling around his waist.

“Eat,” Chanyeol prompts, guiding a bowl of something into his hands. Baekhyun barely processes he’s eating, the heat and discomfort giving way to hunger if only momentarily. The food is gone in a flash however, and once again Baekhyun wants to plunge into a bathtub and not resurface for three days.

Instead, he crawls into Chanyeol’s lap when the younger boy is done with his meal too, pushing his face into Chanyeol’s neck. There are large hands grabbing at his waist, helping him settle down.

“Again?” Chanyeol asks lowly, letting Baekhyun scent him. They still have about a day and a half left of his heat, so close yet so far. Baekhyun nods, whining in protest when Chanyeol pulls his head away from his neck, but quieting down easily when he sees it’s only to kiss him.

Baekhyun is still loose from the last time they fucked, which wasn’t too long ago, but Chanyeol still slides three fingers into him, just for protection. At least that’s what he tells Baekhyun, but the omega knows it’s only because he likes fingering him.

“Chanyeollie,” Baekhyun gasps when the alpha hits his prostate, holding on to the taller boy’s shoulders. “Please, I can’t…”

Chanyeol pulls away, turning around to grab a condom from the floor, but is stopped by Baekhyun grasping his wrist.

“No,” the omega shakes his head. “Knot me. It’ll go away faster.”

“Are you sure?” Chanyeol questions, hands hovering over Baekhyun’s body. “What if I…?”

“We’re not mated,” Baekhyun gets out, speaking becoming more of a task with every passing second. “You’re good.”

Chanyeol allows himself a few more seconds of doubt before he’s discarding the condom, instead grabbing the bottle of lube to slick himself up and guides his cock to Baekhyun’s hole.

With nothing between them, Chanyeol thinks sex got even better. Baekhyun takes a deep breath, just like he always does, and grabs the back of Chanyeol’s neck to pull him down for a kiss. Chanyeol doesn’t need to be asked twice, going down willingly.

He doesn’t move until Baekhyun gives him the go, pulling his hips back and thrusting them back down in a swift move. He loses himself in the sensation and the sounds Baekhyun makes, the way he moans Chanyeol’s name and how his blunt nails are digging into his skin.

At some point, Chanyeol’s attention is distracted by the sight of Baekhyun’s neck, slick with sweat and inviting and it takes a lot from Chanyeol not to lean down and sink his teeth in his skin. Claiming his omega is something better done with anticipation and planning, it shouldn’t be a spur of the moment thing. Besides, if he does, he’ll definitely get him pregnant and that’s not a good idea right now.

But the idea of making Baekhyun his, finally just his, and to have him bear his pups, wakes up the primal alpha in him and Chanyeol is suddenly thrusting faster, harder, gripping Baekhyun’s hips like he wants to leave his mark. And he does, he wants Baekhyun to reek of him, to wear his fingerprints on his skin and he wants every alpha in the city to know he’s taken, that he belongs to him.

“Chanyeol!” Baekhyun gasps. It snaps Chanyeol out of his thoughts and he realizes, perhaps belatedly, that he’s already knotting him. Chanyeol grinds his dick in deeper, watching Baekhyun’s face.

The omega comes unannounced, and even he seems surprised through his moans. Chanyeol is pulled under along with him, and he spills inside him. Baekhyun makes an odd sound at the back of his throat at the sensation, pawing at Chanyeol’s back.

Ten minutes later, after Chanyeol has wiped them both clean and changed the sheets, Baekhyun sighs and says, “Well, that did the trick.”

“You’re out?” Chanyeol asks, hopeful.

“Yeah, thank god,” Baekhyun chuckles. He rolls over to lay on his side so he can look at Chanyeol and gives him a tiny smile. “Thank you, Yeol.”

“My pleasure,” Chanyeol grins, only to get hit repeatedly. Chanyeol laughs, trying to dodge every punch and failing. “Hey, I was thinking.”

Baekhyun hums, his hands now held in place by Chanyeol. Not that he minds. “I want to claim you.”

The statement is sudden, Chanyeol clearly rushing through it so he doesn’t chicken out midway. Baekhyun searches his face to gauge if he’s serious or not, then kisses him as an answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i keep calling coffee "bitter bean juice" why am i like this


	15. 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry this took so long but uhh inspiration is a bitch

“Park Chanyeol I told you to clean up!”

The roar is met with childish giggles from the aforementioned alpha and his boyfriend, then a door being slammed shut and an angry Kyungsoo stomping up the stairs to find them. He ignores the amused glances he receives, intent on finding the culprits of the mess in the basement and makes them pay. He isn’t their _maid _and they’re more than capable of cleaning after themselves.__

__And while their packmates don’t bat an eye at the interaction, probably used to it, others such as Min Yoongi appear alarmed when they hear a door on the second floor bursting open, followed by the distinct sound of Chanyeol screaming._ _

__“Is he going to be okay?” Yoongi asks. They can now hear Kyungsoo laughing maniacally and Chanyeol begging for forgiveness._ _

__“They’ll be fine,” Minseok tells him, not looking up from the newspaper in his hands. Lu Han takes his word for it and goes back to his phone, cursing Yixing for beating him at another round of Words with Friends._ _

__Today is a lazy day. Not only is it a Sunday but the sun seems to have plans other than rising because it’s nearing ten am and it’s still dark out. Sana is pretty sure she can still see the moon somewhere in the sky. However, when she says as much to a drowsy Jimin next to her, the omega mumbles that’s nonsense before snoring._ _

__A few minutes later the screaming has stopped and Kyungsoo saunters back downstairs with a pleased smile on his face. Chanyeol follows not far behind, his right cheek bright red and his hair a complete mess. Baekhyun can still be heard laughing from upstairs._ _

__“What did you do to the poor kid?” Minseok asks._ _

__“Put him back in his place,” Kyungsoo shrugs. “Besides, he deserves it. Baekhyun told me a few things about their alone time.”_ _

__“What did he do?” Minseok asks again, but a little bit alarmed now. Lu Han looks up too, worried he misinterpreted Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s relationship._ _

__“Oh, it was nothing bad!” Kyungsoo rushes to explain. “It’s just, you know how he gets. He thinks Baekhyun is some sort of defenceless flower and shit.”_ _

__“Which I’m not,” Baekhyun says from the entryway to the kitchen. “Where’s the food in this house, my god.”_ _

__Kyungsoo points to the counter where there are two bowls covered in aluminium. “Oatmeal with cinnamon. Bon a petit.”_ _

__Baekhyun’s face lights up and he grabs his plate, a spoon and takes a seat right there on the counter, happily digging in. The bottom floor of the house is once again plunged in comfortable silence, interrupted only by the occasional snore from Jimin or a sneeze from Sana – the poor thing is apparently allergic to cinnamon, of all things._ _

__Chanyeol wanders in sometime later, eats with as much gusto as Baekhyun, and then the two take it upon themselves to silently annoy Kyungsoo. The omega doesn’t bat an eye, staring into Baekhyun’s eyes until the older boy blinks and Kyungsoo cracks a smile._ _

__It isn’t until an hour later that Junmyeon, along with the other alphas, come down from Junmyeon’s room. They’ve been holed up in there since breakfast, discussing God knows what. It doesn’t escape anyone’s mind that it’s probably about what they talked about yesterday, and the sight of their grim faces puts a tense blanket over all of them. Baekhyun and Chanyeol were filled in last night after they resurfaced from the basement and the omega, for all his bravado, looks sick to his stomach now that he’s going to be asked about his decision._ _

__Seokjin excuses himself quickly to gather the rest of his pack, as do Taeyeon and Jisoo. Yifan and Junmyeon share equally worried glances. With everyone settled around the living room, Junmyeon takes the lead – as he has for the past two months since the arrival of the packs._ _

__“Do we have your decision?” he asks. A mutter of agreement goes around the room. “Alright. To make things easier, how about those who want to fight raise your hands.”_ _

__To no one’s surprise, all hands go up, alphas, betas and omegas alike. There’s not even a flicker of hesitation in anyone’s eyes, just steely resolution. Despite everything, the head alphas look proud of their packs. As they should be._ _

__“Well, with that out of the way,” Yifan smiles. “Let’s get down to business.”_ _

__~_ _

__First thing they do is come up with a new patrol agenda. Pairs are switched up, schedules are rearranged and the perimeter is widened, leading them to walk dangerously close to where the hunters are hiding. Momo points out they might want to include the lake and to get closer to the mountains, since both are easily accessed by humans. Junmyeon agrees and marks both areas with his red marker._ _

__Yoona and Juhyun are sent out in the afternoon for their round. After them, at night, Hoseok and Taehyung are to go one way while Zitao and Yifan go the opposite way. They also set up sentry duty to guard the immediate areas to their house, with Baekhyun, Kyungsoo and Jongdae on first watch, relieved at 2 am by Jimin, Mina and Taeyeon._ _

__They pin the paper with the timetable and pairs to the refrigerator’s door for easier access. After everything’s been sorted out, Junmyeon sends everyone to the backyard to workout. He’s met with some complaints, especially since the weather is so gloomy, but they comply anyway._ _

__So while everyone is outside, judo flipping each other and enjoying it perhaps a tad too much, Junmyeon rounds up the alphas again. They have other things to discuss now that everyone is in on the plan._ _

__“We need to agree to let the omegas go,” Junmyeon says without preamble. “And that goes for everyone, even you, Yifan. I saw you grimace one minute ago when Sehun went up against Hyoyeon outside. They are all more than capable of taking care of themselves.”_ _

__“We know that,” Jisoo argues. “It’s just hard, you know?”_ _

__“I know,” Junmyeon agrees. And it is, he’s not innocent. He still has a hard time accepting that Baekhyun and Kyungsoo will put their lives on the line soon – just as much as he worries for the other three, Chanyeol, Minseok and Jongdae. But he also knows the other alphas will have an even harder time accepting the fact the omegas are fighting, because unlike him, they seem to be more on the traditional side of things. He has fate in them, however, and he trusts they’ll be able to handle it._ _

__After the head alphas agree to at least hide their discomfort, they all head out to join their packs._ _

__Outside, Baekhyun has Minseok pinned to the ground while Kyungsoo and Lu Han cheer from the side lines. Jongin seems to be talking Sehun through the motions of the same move, a bright smile on the beta’s face when Sehun gets it right. Yixing and Zitao keep arguing by the treeline over one thing or another, but it doesn’t seem serious. Chanyeol, once he gets sight of Junmyeon, drags him over to his spot and asks his alpha to help him stretch since “Baekhyunnie isn’t talking to me, too busy showing off.”_ _

__Yifan goes over to Yixing and Zitao to train with them. The two alphas work together well and Zitao is always up for a little roughhousing, so the three come up with a routine and get to work._ _

__The packs train well into the afternoon, until they’re too hungry and sweaty to continue. Who gets to shower first becomes the new Trojan War, everyone shouting and arguing. Unnoticed, Yixing and Jongdae slip away together to the bathroom upstairs, giggling like children once they’re out of sight. By the time the others notice what they’ve done, they’re already soaped up and with shampoo in their hair so they can’t exactly drag them out – no matter what Kyungsoo threatens._ _

__They do follow their example though, and shower in pairs. It takes almost two hours for everyone to get their turn, and in the meantime dinner is cooked. Kyungsoo has Taehyung and Seokjin get the meat from the basement’s freezer and cooks rice and fried veggies to go with it, batting every single wandering hand away (except for Minseok, he’s too weak for the beta to do that)._ _

__“Dinner’s ready!”_ _

__As if summoned by the devil, all wolves are immediately gathered around the kitchen, helping themselves to the buffet-like spread. Kyungsoo already got first dibs and is sitting in the loveseat in the living room, quite literally wolfing down his meal. In his humble opinion, the meat is delicious._ _

__~_ _

__It’s nearing sunrise when Hoseok and Taehyung return, flushed like they ran a marathon and worriedly asking to talk to Junmyeon. The head alpha agrees hesitantly, not missing the almost frantic looks they shoot a bed-haired Baekhyun._ _

__“Hyung,” Taehyung starts in the safety of Junmyeon’s studio. “We have a problem.”_ _

__Junmyeon nods, taking a seat on the edge of his desk. “Alright,” he says. “What is it?”_ _

__Taehyung and Hoseok share a glance before the beta speaks up. “While we were in patrol, we got pretty close to the hunters. We were in earshot range, enough to hear what some of them were saying. I think they were in patrol too, I don’t know. Anyway, they were talking about their reasons to be in town and…”_ _

__“They were talking about Baekhyun hyung,” Taehyung murmurs. The words are enough to send a blow through Junmyeon’s heart, but then the alpha keeps talking. “From what I gathered, they remember Baekhyun from his childhood, they know he remembers their faces and… and they’re here to kill him.”_ _

__Before Junmyeon can even come up with an intelligent response – ignoring the incoherent screaming going off in his head -, there’s a thud from outside and the door slams open, revealing Chanyeol and Jongdae piled on top of each other. Junmyeon can’t say he’s surprised._ _

__“They’re here to what?!” the two stooges say in unison._ _

__Junmyeon sighs tiredly, ushering them in and closing the door behind them. “We’re not going to let that happen.”_ _

__Chanyeol scoffs. “Obviously.” He bows his head when his alpha shoots him a look._ _

__“I think you should be the one to tell him, hyung,” Jongdae says to Junmyeon sincerely. “He’ll want to hear it from you. And if you were thinking to keep this a secret from him then you got another thing coming.”_ _

__“We won’t tell anyone else,” Hoseok assures him. “We’ll leave that to you.”_ _

__“Gee, thanks.”_ _

__~_ _

__Baekhyun gives him an odd look when Junmyeon asks to talk to him in private but follows him outside without a word. Today, unlike yesterday, is bright and shiny and the sun is glaring down on them with a vengeance._ _

__“Baekhyunnie,” Junmyeon hesitates. “You know Hoseok and Taehyung were on patrol today, right?” at the nod he receives, he continues, “they were close enough to the hunters to hear some of them talking and,” he pauses, “Baekhyunnie, some of them are the same hunters from when you were a kid.”_ _

__“What?” Baekhyun whispers._ _

__“And they’ve come back because they want to kill you.”_ _

__Baekhyun gapes at his alpha, lost for words. He doesn’t notice his eyes are welling up with tears until Junmyeon is pulling him into a hug and vowing that they won’t lay a hand on him, not as long as Junmyeon is breathing. Baekhyun lets him smother him in all the hugs he wants, admittedly in need for them, but what he truly wants to do is stamp over to the hunters’ camp and set it on fire. Maybe torture them a little bit at first, just like they did to his family-_ _

___No, Baekhyun. Homicidal thoughts are not right. You are better than them _.__ _ _

____He tries to tell himself that everything will be alright, but Baekhyun worries he might lose his cool when he sees the hunters. He knows what the other head alphas were saying – how he might go crazy with grief or something and ruin the plan. What they don’t know is that he has a plan of his own._ _ _ _

____~_ _ _ _

____Away from the drama in the house, Lu Han drags Sehun around the mall. They both have the same thought in mind, although neither of them says it – is this a date? Does the other consider this to be a date?_ _ _ _

____Lu Han sure does, and he hopes to God Sehun feels the same. He won’t ask, no, that would be too embarrassing and Lu Han has had enough embarrassing moments on his life to add to the collection._ _ _ _

____Sehun keeps worrying his bottom lip, stealing glances at the beta when he’s not looking and wondering how to bring it up. Maybe slip in the word date as casually as possible and hope for the best? A bit of a cowardly move, perhaps, but Sehun has been in love with Lu Han for years and it’s time he knows where they’re standing._ _ _ _

____After a brief pep talk to himself – even though it sounds strangely like Jongin has climbed inside his head -, Sehun finally has the balls to ask, “Hyung, are we on a date?”_ _ _ _

____Lu Han stops in his tracks. Sehun physically cringes, panicking and thinking he was wrong and screwed up._ _ _ _

____“Do you want this to be a date?” is what Lu Han says._ _ _ _

____“…Yes,” Sehun admits._ _ _ _

____Lu Han smiles. “Then it is! Now come on Sehunnie, the arcade is in the other hallway.”_ _ _ _

____Sehun has no other choice but to follow, since the beta has a firm grip on his wrist, but Sehun doesn’t mind._ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you might wanna get ready because everything goes to shit in about two (2) chapters


	16. 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i realized while rereading past chapters that this story has no timeline whatsoever. i have no idea how long it's been since the beginning of the story, so let's assume they're in february like us

The landline in the kitchen rings late at night. Sana is the only one in the kitchen; hence she is closest to the phone, so she picks it up herself. “Hello? Kim Residence.”

“Is Byun Baekhyun there?”

The voice sounds unfamiliar to Sana and some deep instinct tells her to pass the phone to Junmyeon instead of Baekhyun. Besides, Baekhyun and Chanyeol are busy preparing things with Kyungsoo and she doesn’t want to interrupt. 

“Kim Junmyeon speaking,” Junmyeon speaks into the phone, voice laced with a yawn. He’d been just about to retire to his room when Sana called for him. “Who’s this?”

“Byun Baekhyun,” the voice on the other end of the line repeats. “I wish to speak to Byun Baekhyun.”

“Excuse me, sir, but Baekhyun isn’t available,” Junmyeon says steely. “Now, who am I talking to?”

“Who is it, hyung?”

Baekhyun appears in the threshold of the kitchen, already dressed in his pajamas, face bare and looking like he’d rolled out of bed. Kyungsoo shuffles in right behind him, similarly dressed, but his eyes are far more alarmed than Baekhyun. The (slightly, Kyungsoo insists) older omega doesn’t seem too bothered someone is on the phone asking for him at such hours.

Junmyeon shakes his head no, more firmly again when Baekhyun insists to grab the phone. Sana excuses herself quietly, too tired to bother. She leaves the kitchen with a wave, following her nose more than seeing to find where Momo has crashed for the night.

Once she’s gone, Kyungsoo takes her spot by the counter, rests his elbows on the surface and tries not to bite his nails out of sheer anxiety. There’s a bad, bad feeling in the pit of his stomach since this morning that just seemed to tighten when he heard the voice on the line.

“Hyung,” Baekhyun sighs tiredly, “I want to go to bed, please just let me take the call.”

Junmyeon gives him a hard look but relents, passing the phone. Kyungsoo’s stomach decides to somersault out of his own body when the voice speaks again.

“Ah, little Baekhyunnie,” the caller practically purrs. “The one that got away.”

Baekhyun stiffens. He apparently recognizes the voice. “What do you want?”

“Your head,” the caller spits. “On my wall. I’m coming for you, little wolf. You and all your little friends. Especially the tall one – what’s his name? Chanyeol? He’s special to you, isn’t he?”

“You put one hand on him,” Baekhyun threatens, “and I’ll make you eat it. Stay away from my family.”

Baekhyun hangs up before the caller has the chance to respond. Kyungsoo watches with worried eyes Baekhyun’s chest rise up and down in a feeble attempt to calm down. He hands the phone back to Junmyeon silently, brushes off the concerned looks his alpha sends his way and leaves without a word.

Kyungsoo swallows the lump on his throat with difficulty. He knows now who called and he doesn’t know how Baekhyun could hold a conversation with that man without throwing up. God knows Kyungsoo had to hold back the bile rising to his mouth and it wasn’t his family that got murdered by the hunter.

He has no idea what to do. He turns to Junmyeon for help, but his alpha is just as lost as he feels. Fortunately, Minseok decides that’s the right time to come down to the kitchen for his not-so-secret midnight snack. 

“Is everything alright?” Minseok asks as soon as he senses the tension.

Junmyeon opens his mouth to answer but comes up empty handed. Minseok looks between Junmyeon and Kyungsoo before taking a seat next to the omega. Kyungsoo leans into him, preening when Minseok runs a hand through his hair. He wants to protest how it isn’t fair they’re distracting him so he’ll forget that he’s worried – because that totally is what they’re doing and they can’t deny it – but the caresses feel nice and Kyungsoo likes the attention. He might not be as open about it as Baekhyun is, but he still enjoys being pampered every once in a while.

~

“Are you sure about this?”

Baekhyun gives Chanyeol an exasperated look. Just when the worrywart had given in to his wish, the damn phone call came and now Chanyeol is all over-protective again and having seconds thoughts. “Chanyeol. Chanyeollie, I’m sure. In fact, that call just served to remind me why it’s so important we do this now.”

Chanyeol doesn’t look too convinced. Jongdae paces by the door, face pinched in a concerned frown. He agrees with Baekhyun, and he can certainly understand why his best friend is so adamant they do this as soon as possible, but Chanyeol’s worry and anxiety are clouding the room and the scent is too strong for his poor beta senses.

“Chanyeol-ah,” Jongdae speaks up, sending his two brothers a kind smile, “I think Baekhyun is right. You should do this, before it’s too late.”

If anything, Chanyeol’s dark cloud worsens, and he mutters something that sounds like it isn’t fair they’re ganging up on him. Which they’re not, but the alpha is a stubborn child. “Alright,” he nods. “I fear that if I continue to refuse you might think I don’t want to do this.”

Immediately, Baekhyun’s face falls. “Wait, you do want to do this, right?” he asks frantically. “Oh god I didn’t even question it – Yeol, I swear if you’re not comfortable with this we don’t have to do it -”

“Of course I want to!” Chanyeol exclaims. He extends his arms and puts his hands up to further emphasise his statement. “Baek, that’s totally not what I meant!”

The two continue to reassure each other for minutes. Jongdae sighs and shakes his head. “Idiots.”

Finally, the two calm down enough to carry on. Jongdae gets on his knees to their right, eyes sharp. “Alright, you know what to do, right?”

Both of the boys nod, for once completely serious. Jongdae nods back. “Good. I’m right here in case anything happens.”

Baekhyun takes a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart. His hand moves on its own until he finds Jongdae’s and grasps tightly. Meanwhile, Chanyeol focuses his mind on the task ahead. He tries not to grip too strongly when he grabs Baekhyun by the neck and pulls him closer. However, just when his lips are about to touch his neck, he stops and whispers, “Love you Baekhyunnie.”

He can’t see him, but he knows Baekhyun is smiling. “Love you too Yeol.”

“And I love you guys too!” Jongdae cackles, accepting the punch to the arm that Chanyeol blindly sends his way. The room fall silent once again and finally, Chanyeol breaches the gap and latches his teeth to the tender skin on Baekhyun’s neck.

Baekhyun expected it to hurt. He thought it would make sense, considering Chanyeol is breaching his skin. But surprisingly, it doesn’t – it just feels warm, and a little fuzzy around the edges, a bit like the time Junmyeon gave him the bite to add him to his pack. Except with Junmyeon, the feelings swirling inside him were friendship, companionship, a deep sense of belonging. And while he feels the same things this time, everything is amplified tenfold, and it comes with the burning love he has for Chanyeol, and the safety of being with him.

They hear Jongdae mutter a soft, “Ok, that’s enough,” before they switch. It takes Baekhyun a bit more time to break the skin, because his teeth aren’t as sharp as an alpha’s, but seconds later he’s managed it. The same feelings course through him, accompanied by Chanyeol’s own emotions – his devotion and his admiration, how proud Chanyeol is of him. 

When they pull apart, they look the same. Jongdae isn’t looking at them any differently, perhaps a little more fondly than usual. But Baekhyun can feel it; he can feel the shift in their bond. They no longer are just packmates or best friends or boyfriends – they’re mates now.

“You guys did great,” Jongdae is the first to break the silence. “I didn’t even have to step in because you somehow screwed up or anything.”

Baekhyun glares at him but Chanyeol just laughs and he sounds so _happy_. Baekhyun wants to record the sound and listen to it forever.

“Welp, I’m sure you guys are exhausted now,” Jongdae says, carefully getting to his feet. Baekhyun does the same, extending his hand to help Chanyeol up. When their skin touches, there’ no electricity, just warmth. Warmth and Chanyeol. “So I’ll leave you be. I’ll go gossip about you two with Kyungsoo.”

Just before Jongdae is out the door, Chanyeol calls out his name and says, “Go get your alpha, k?” and proceeds to wink. Baekhyun guffaws at the terrible blush on Jongdae’s face even if he’s flipping Chanyeol off.

Jongdae isn’t wrong, though. Baekhyun truly is tired, and he wants to crawl into bed and sleep for twelve hours. He drags Chanyeol to bed, his body moving sluggishly. They had placed cushions, blankets and pillows on the floor earlier when Kyungsoo suggested it, because he’d heard that sometimes claiming sessions were so intense wolves would pass out and it wasn’t a good idea to move them. Now Baekhyun can understand the reasoning – he doesn’t have the energy to move all those things that are oh so important for a good night sleep back to where they belong. 

They flop down on one of their beds, bare except for a sheet and one of the plushies they failed to add to the pile on the floor. Nevertheless, Baekhyun makes the most of the situation and cuddles up to Chanyeol, rearranging the tall alpha until Baekhyun is comfortable and letting his eyes slip closed.

“Good night mate.”

Baekhyun grins.

“Good night mate.”

~

The next morning, everyone knows about the claiming. Maybe because they heard Jongdae gush about it the night before, maybe because their keener senses alert them of the change, maybe because the bite marks are an angry red on their necks. Lu Han soothes a worried Zitao when he sees them, assuring the younger wolf that it’s natural for the bites to look like that.

“Don’t you remember when Yifan took us in?” Lu Han tells him gently. “Your neck was red for days too, Taozi. You complained a lot, actually.”

Zitao looks confused. “I did?” he asks. “That’s weird. I’m usually so calm about things.”

Lu Han doesn’t contradict him, though he does smile affectionately.

Jongdae doesn’t miss a single chance to poke fun at them and keeps making lame ‘married couple’ jokes, not that the other two are elated – they’re in their honeymoon phase, as Yoongi pointed out.

“Seokjin kept making the same dumb face after we mated,” he tells Jongdae in confidence. Jimin, who was just walking by, adds, “You were worse, hyung.”

Yoongi throws a wet rag at his face. Seokjin chides him, saying it isn’t nice to bully their kids. Jongdae cackles at the bright blush on Yoongi’s face at the words ‘our kids’. Most mated couples congratulate them and give them advice, especially if they want to have sex without having kids just yet. Baekhyun blushes bright red while Chanyeol smiles uneasily and nods through the entire conversation with Taeyeon, who either doesn’t notice their discomfort or doesn’t care.

“How does she even know all that stuff?” Baekhyun whispers to Jongdae when they’re free again. “She’s mated to a girl!”

Jongdae shrugs, carefully stacking the clean plates on the counter for Kyungsoo to put away later. “She’s an alpha, man,” he says, “They know everything.”

“Plus, she’s a girl,” Jessica adds, materializing out of nowhere. “We know stuff.”

When the packs go hunting in the evening, everyone pent up with staying in the house for too long, Baekhyun and Chanyeol are unstoppable, bringing down prey after prey like its child play. Yoona says it’s because their senses are heightened and combined, even if they don’t realize it yet.

Junmyeon’s a lot to think about when he goes to bed. There’s an idea, a wish if you may, running through his mind, it’s been there for some days and it only seemed to grow when Baekhyun shyly asked for permission to do what he wanted to do. He hasn’t said a word to Jongdae, mostly because he isn’t even sure where he stands with the younger boy, but also because he doesn’t want to rush into things.

His relationship with Jongdae has always been very different to Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s. The other two have been together since – some might argue sooner - they were fourteen, always up to something, always open and honest about their feelings. They said ‘I love you’ when they were fifteen, and now that they’re eighteen they’ve taken the big step. They’ve always been the perfect couple, they complement each other. Jongdae and Junmyeon – they are a mess. 

Their escapades started when they were sixteen, after Baekhyun’s heat of the year left Kyungsoo bed ridden and Jongdae jumpy. Junmyeon was there, things escalated and well… here they are two almost three years later, confused and lost in a sea of miscommunication and broken hearts.

Maybe they’re better now, maybe they can do some of the things they used to do before this mess began, like watching movies together or cuddling at night, but those are all things they could do with anyone else in their pack and that’s what leaves Junmyeon so confused, because he has no idea whether Jongdae just wants to be friends of if he would like to start over.

Such thoughts keep him up for hours, until Minseok slips into bed with him and tells him to relax because his restlessness is keeping him up too.

~

“So here’s the plan.”

Junmyeon stabs the ruler down on the map of the woods, pointing at the hunter’s camp. “This is where they’re staying. Here,” he drags the tip of the ruler to a secluded area west of the camp, “Is where Yixing, Momo and Yuri will be. I chose the three of you because you’re good with first aid, so I thought it could be our infirmary. It’s not too far but I don’t think the hunters will notice you.”

The three wolves nod. They don’t seem to have any protests about their task.

“There will be three attack groups,” Seokjin says, taking the lead. “Although I find the name rather tasteless. We split the groups as evenly as possible. North of the camp will be Tiffany, Yifan, Jongdae, Yoona, Chanyeol, Namjoon, Jessica, Kyungsoo, Taehyung and Jungkook. You will attack first, head on. Obviously, they will notice you right away, which is why you’re going – you’re quick, strong and have the best reflexes in the our packs.”

All of the wolves look pleased by that, especially Jungkook – he seems to have a thing for praise.

Yifan grabs the ruler, moving their attention to the south of the map. “This will be the second group. Give the first team five minutes and then go in. The ones assigned to this post are Junmyeon, Chaeyoung, Minseok, Seokjin, Jisoo, Hoseok, Juhyun, Taeyeon and Sehun. I know most of the head alphas are in this team,” he continues, “but that’s only because we needed a fair split up and to be honest, we drew papers from a hat.”

Someone snorts. Jisoo knows it was Dahyun, she can feel it.

“The third group will be east to the camp,” Jisoo picks up the ruler. “Right here. Again, five minutes after the second team goes in you’ll get your green light. Jimin, Yoongi, Hyoyeon, Sooyoung, Soonkyu, Nayeon, Baekhyun, Lu Han, Dahyun and Jongin – this is your spot.”

“And finally,” Taeyeon says, “Mina, Zitao, Jeongyeon and Tzuyu will be the backup. You were each assigned a spot – Mina will be with the north team, Zitao south, Jeongyeon east and Tzuyu west. Your job is to keep an eye out for the packs. If anyone needs help, is wounded or…” she trails off, but clears her throat and goes on, “you will rush into battle and get them out. Tzuyu, since you will be with the medical team, you will also have to protect them from the hunters if they’re busy with other wolves. Do you think you can do that? Or should we assign someone to stay with you?”

“I can do it,” Tzuyu says resolutely. Taeyeon observes her careful for a couple of seconds before nodding. 

“Alright. Everyone, I think it’s fairly obvious what the goal is – kill the hunters, or at least scare them enough they’ll back off. However, keep the kids alive.” At the sound of surprise that comes from so many wolves except her own, she glares at the other head alphas. “You didn’t tell them?! You’re useless.”

She turns back to the packs, which are all muttering uneasily among themselves. “The hunters have children with them. Do not harm them. In fact, do not kill unless it’s kill or be killed.” 

Someone starts to sing ‘we all die, you either kill yourself or get killed’, accompanied by a chorus of ‘whatchu gon do’. Taeyeon tries not to cry. “I truly think a massacre won’t be necessary. From what we’ve gathered, most of the hunters are here to kill, yes, but there’s an equal number of people in that camp with no such ideas – there are kids and elderly people, too. So be careful out there.”

“We’ll be going the day after tomorrow,” Junmyeon says. “It’s the day after the full moon, which will give us an edge. Until then, continue to train but try to get enough rest and don’t forget to eat lots.”

Everyone nods in agreement and the meeting is broken off. Junmyeon is just about to retire to his room when Hyoyeon and Sooyoung stop everyone and say, “We might die soon and you know what that means.”

Junmyeon hears Juhyun stifle an exasperated groan. Sooyoung and Hyoyeon grin before exclaiming in unison.

“It’s party time!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a tad longer than usual to make up for the time lost. also, you should enjoy the minimal fluff this chapter and the next because things will get ugly soon.
> 
>  
> 
> and uh i love kudos as much as the next gal but i would truly really heol appreciate it if you would leave a comment?? even if it's just a simple line to tell me if you liked this mess or not, it would really make my day :)


	17. 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i...realize...i've been gone for a while and I'M SORRY but it's my senior year man i'm busy living la vida loca
> 
> this is a filler chapter of sorts since i needed something nice to happen before Shit Happened. dw tho starting the next chapter (whenever that may be pls dont leave me) things are going to get pretty interesting.
> 
> oh and, just so you know... people start dying today :)

Somehow, Hyoyeon gets the surround system to work, a feat none of the actual home owners have accomplished in two years. She plays a playlist directly from YouTube and as soon as Gwen Stefani starts playing, Junmyeon knows he’s in for a wild night. 

Why? Because Jongdae and Baekhyun _love _Gwen Stefani. Hollaback girl? Jongdae denominated it his song and plays it at least once a week in the car. Of course, as soon as the initial “super kawaii” blares through the speakers, Jongdae screeches like a hyena from where he’s pouring chips into a glass bowl in the kitchen and rushes out to meet Baekhyun in the hallway.__

__Junmyeon supresses a grin, picking up from where Jongdae left off, taking the three bowls they’ve prepared to the coffee table in the living room. Most of their guests have gone to change into something more suited for a party, because Sooyoung refused to let them all hang out in pajamas and ratty track pants._ _

__“We do that every day,” she reasoned. “This is supposed to be a party, for crying out loud. Where’s the bling? The short skirts? The tight pants?”_ _

__Most of them agreed to look decent, but it was a collective agreement that no short skirts or tight pants would be happening anytime soon. They weren’t in the mood for that. Junmyeon’s already changed into jeans and a blue button-up, something simple and Sooyoung Approved._ _

__“Where’s the beer in this house?” Hyoyeon asks loudly, coming back from the basement. “I’ve searched the kitchen, the pantry, the underground World War II bunker and nothing.”_ _

__“We don’t have beer in the house,” Baekhyun tells her. The song is now over, which means the demon previously possessing him and Jongdae is gone. “We’re underage, remember?”_ _

__Hyoyeon gives him a blank look. Baekhyun shrugs. “Junmyeon banned alcohol from the house after he woke up and found out we’d drawn Kiss’ star on his face.”_ _

__“Well, I can’t be mad after hearing that,” Hyoyeon sighs. “Soda it is, then.”_ _

__The others aren’t too disappointed about the lack of alcohol. Most aren’t even too excited about a party and are simply going along with it because there is no escape from it. They order a mountain of pizzas and fried chicken, which Junmyeon knows will disappear the moment it’s placed on the table._ _

__People seem to be someplace else during the party. Packs are huddled together in different corners of the living room, talking in hushed whispers. Junmyeon is no exception._ _

__He is flanked on one side by Kyungsoo, who is more or less curled around Minseok. On his other side, Baekhyun has one half of his body on top of Junmyeon and the other half on top of Chanyeol. And finally Jongdae, who is trying to become one with Chanyeol’s arm._ _

__Right across from them, Yifan is in the same predicament. Sehun has Zitao glued to one side and Jongin on the other, while Lu Han sits at his feet. On the ends of the couch, Yifan and Yixing pet random fluffs of hair wherever they can reach without moving too far._ _

__Hyoyeon and Sooyoung don’t look too happy their party is dead, though. Yuri, their usual partner in crime, is snoring on Yoona’s lap._ _

__“Come on people,” Sooyoung whines, shaking Jessica off her arm. “I know we’re freaking out but just sitting around and wait does nothing. We should try to lighten up a bit.”_ _

__“Fine,” Taehyung moans, rolling off the couch and ultimately lands on top of Jimin, who wiggles until the alpha is off him. “But please, no more Gwen Stefani.”_ _

__~_ _

__With a Top 50 playlist blasting through the speakers, the living room becomes the dancefloor. Junmyeon expected most of them to be shit at dancing, but he’s pleasantly surprised that some are actually great dancers. Even Sehun, who’s usually so shy around other people, is dancing with Jungkook and Jimin, Jongin pouting and feeling left out – at least until Yixing pulls him off the couch and drags him to the middle of the living room. Yifan and Zitao cackle at his deer-caught-in-the-headlights look on his face._ _

__Junmyeon gets dragged to the center by Minseok, who gives him a shit-eating grin and pushes him in the direction of Jongdae. The beta is startled at first when he finds himself with an armful of alpha, but soon enough he’s smiling all kittenish and making Junmyeon’s heartbeat do its own little tap dance routine in his chest. At Jongdae’s lifted eyebrows, Junmyeon heaves a sigh and nods, accepting his fate. Even though they’re both disasters at dancing, they waves their arms around and it’s good enough for Hyoyeon, who hoots and hollers before grabbing Yuri and making her dance too._ _

__Around them, everyone slowly begin to get up and dance, some better than others. Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Lu Han aren’t even attempting to follow the beat, instead creating their own dance moves. Yoongi and Seokjin decline every attempt made by Hoseok for them to join, both resolutely sitting with their legs overlapping each other on the loveseat. Hoseok pouts, sends them the middle finger and goes to Namjoon for comfort._ _

__For two hours, the living room is a mess of tangled limbs and shouting, until they’re all too sweaty and tired to continue. They settle around, most people on the ground because they can’t bother with walking to where the furniture has been pushed back. Junmyeon himself is on his back, Jongdae resting his head on his stomach and poking at his thigh, regardless of Junmyeon telling him it tickles._ _

__Yoongi manoeuvres around the mass of bodies, nose pinched, until he reaches the kitchen. Junmyeon hears him complain they’re fresh out of coffee before making his way back and pouting at Seokjin, who promises to buy more tomorrow before he wakes up. It seems to be enough for him, seeing as he smiles and sits back down. Taehyung mutters something that sounds like “whipped” and Junmyeon can’t help but agree._ _

__“I need water,” Chaeyoung whines._ _

__“Go get it yourself,” Tzuyu shoots. Chaeyoung kicks feebly at what she can reach of the other girl, who dodges easily and sticks her tongue out._ _

__“I’ll go get it,” Mina tells her. She gets up, dusting herself off, chuckling when she says, “I can’t believe we’re all just lying on the floor.”_ _

__“Excuse you,” Dahyun pipes up, “some of us are lying on the couch, thank you very much.”_ _

__“Whatever,” Mina laughs, stepping over sprawled arms and legs. She returns a minute later with a water bottle that’s seeping condensation. She uncaps it, downs about half of it, then shuts it again and tosses it at Chaeyoung. “There you go, kid.”_ _

__Chaeyoung mumbles a thank you through the bottle, causing some of the water to trickle down her chin. Momo pokes her cheek with a smile. Mina turns around, looking for a place to rest._ _

__The window shatters, a rain of glass scattering around the living room. Sehun, the closest to the window, is startled so badly he jumps in his spot. Mina drops to the ground, her face turned away from Junmyeon, but he still sees the blood seeping under her._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welp that happened
> 
> im curious, do you guys have any ideas who might die next? or what's gonna happen in the next chapter? let me know in the comments my babies and WISH ME LUCK ON MY LAST TERM OF HIGH SCHOOL AAAHHH

**Author's Note:**

> My Twitter is @doitsushine92 in case anyone wants to talk :)


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